Unavoidable Truths
by ataraxis
Summary: Truths come to light for Don, Charlie and the rest. DonCharlie Slash
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: Don/Charlie   
Warning(s): m/m, implied incest, spoilers up to the end of season 2, will ignore season  
Summary: Truths come to light for Don, Charlie and the rest  
Author's Notes: Not currently beta'd  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I am using them without permission. I am making no money from their use

**Part One **

Charlie and Don spent a quiet Saturday afternoon playing basketball and talking about past cases and surprisingly, past relationships. The relationships discussion was Charlie's contribution, as he wanted to get Don's further input on what he should do about Amita.

Don joked with Charlie about how he really couldn't take advice from someone who shied away from one serious relationship after another. After Don's off-hand remark, Charlie stole the ball from his hands and made a lay up shot for the win.

"I think it's time for something cold to drink. You staying or going?" Charlie asked as they walked past the garage to put the basketball away.

"If you've got a beer with my name on it, I'll stay." Don reached out and tugged on a lock of Charlie's hair, as Charlie closed the garage door.

Charlie swatted at Don's hand in annoyance, before he nodded and quirked a smile in response to the question, then shoved Don towards the house. Don was continuously amazed at how well the two of them got along now. That with age and experience came maturity, but still capable of expressing their inner youthfulness. Hence, their weekly competitive basketball games and relaxed teasing. It was nice having this new camaraderie between the two of them, after their early years of growing up having a tinge of envy and bitterness.

They walked into the kitchen and Don asked Charlie what he wanted from the refrigerator as he pulled out his usual bottle of beer.

"Could you get me a tray of ice, I'm just going to have a glass of water." Don reached into the freezer, got the requested item and placed it on the island. He leaned back against the counter afterwards and stopped to look closely at his brother, as the younger man got a glass and filled it with water from the tap. Don often did that now, the observing, when there were moments of peace and quiet, especially when there wasn't a case pressing down on the both of them. He watched as a trickle of sweat ran down from Charlie's hair along the side of his face. He and Charlie were so different in so many ways, especially in their build and looks, but as their dad remarked, still alike in many others, like their stubbornness.

Don had slowly come to the realization over the last few weeks, especially since that situation with the hackers and Russian mafia trying to hit the banks via computer and Koverchenko had threatened Charlie. So Don had tried to take him off the case, because he loved his brother dearly. He would go to any lengths necessary to protect Charlie; even if it meant he had to push his brother away and out of his life, especially his work life.

Don was still trying to understand the depth of his love. He didn't think it was anything beyond brotherly affection, something that had been sparse over their years growing up, when Charlie was recognized as being a math prodigy and invading Don's life during high school. But, at moments like these, when he saw how graceful, intelligent and beautiful his brother was, he had doubts.

He had never before thought of any man as beautiful, so it was even more disturbing to Don that he would think so of this own brother. He had always been a 'ladies man' and this aberration would not change that image he had of himself. He had no leanings towards bisexuality, he firmly told his subconscious mind.

He then shoved all those thoughts back into the shadowed corners where they normally lurked. He knew they would only stay there temporarily and would come out again soon, when he least expected it.

Charlie's sigh of pleasure as he swallowed his ice water jolted Don from his contemplation. The elder Eppes hastily took another sip of his beer to cover his preoccupation.

"So you've got no helpful hints in how I should handle the situation with Amita?"

Don shook his head negatively. "Charlie, I'm really not the best man to ask. Perhaps it would be better to get another woman's opinion. Maybe you could ask Megan, get her insights into the situation or maybe even Dad's or Larry's. Those two seem to be having better success at relationships than I currently am."

With a heavy sigh, Don reached up with his free hand and rubbed at his forehead in weariness. He'd just tried again at a relationship with the lovely attorney, Robin Brooks. While the bedroom activities has been more than great, it was the moments outside of it that hadn't sparkled. Don knew that just having a physical attachment would not be enough and he'd also felt a strange sense of guilt over the entire thing. At the time he had assumed it was because of job preoccupation, but now he could attribute it all to his constant thoughts surrounding his brother.

"Don?" Charlie reached out and touched his brother at the wrist. The action jolted Don from his thoughts once again and in his surprise at the cool, moist touch of fingers that had just been holding a glass of ice water against his warm skin, Don let his fingers flex and his grip loosened around the beer bottle. The bottle made a dull thud against the tile floor causing both brothers to jump in shock.

Don looked down at the brown bottle, and watched – as if almost from a great distance, he felt so removed from the situation – the liquid flow out into a pool of pale amber and foam.

Charlie also watched the floor with a sense of detachment, then looked again at Don with concern. He knew something had been bothering his brother of late, but knew for certain it wasn't a case, so he felt completely lost as to the cause. He slowly moved away from Don and went to clean up the spill; all the while, Don didn't move or shift from his stance. Charlie got down on his knees with a paper towel and a wet sponge and when his presence finally registered in Don't line of sight, the FBI agent jerked back suddenly, as if spooked.

While he cleaned up the mess, Charlie spoke softly to his brother, "I don't know what's bothering you, Don, but if you need some advice," Charlie looked up straight into Don's eyes, "you can ask me. I'm here for you, Donny."

Don stared deep into Charlie's eyes and lost himself, felt himself fall. He knew in that moment with certain clarity that what he felt wasn't just brotherly love, but a love to end all time, and that thought truly frightened him. He was in love with his baby brother.

Barely noticed was the shadow that crossed over Don't countenance, but Charlie saw it appear and leave just as quickly, then watched as Don's face just closed down completely, as if void of all emotion. Charlie's concern for Don escalated. He reached out to his brother once more, but before he could grab a wrist or an arm, Don pulled away and turned to leave.

"I've got to go, Charlie. I'll..." Don turned back for a second, not looking anywhere in Charlie's vicinity, "I'll talk to you later."

Then before Charlie could say anything in response, Don was gone.

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

As he sat in his darkened apartment, Don picked up his fourth bottle of beer since he'd arrived home. He didn't want to think about this newest development with Charlie and was therefore trying to drink himself into oblivion, if only for a little while. He'd do almost anything to block out the pain and unnaturalness of being in love with a relative. It was so wrong, just so inherently wrong. Don felt like he needed to scrub his brain clean and let the water wash away the taint. He knew he loved his brother, that they had been getting closer and closer through their shared work and even outside of that. This however, this new feeling was totally alien to him. Don had always lusted first, and then tried for an emotional tie between himself and whoever had his current interest. Sometimes it worked for a while, but then Don would get this itch under his skin and a sense of hesitation in his mind and he would be gone.

"Maybe I'm just looking for shadows where there aren't any. What do I know about love, really. Yeah, what I feel for Charlie, it's just brotherly affection. That's all, nothing more," Don said aloud to the empty living room. He said those words over and over inside his head like a mantra. He figured if he said them often enough, the denial would become truth and he would be able to face his family without flinching.

By his sixth beer, he was passed out on the couch; he had found the peaceful oblivion he had sought.

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In another house minutes away, Charlie sat in the garage facing his blackboard and his current project -- the numbers hardly penetrating his brain as his thoughts swirled around the events of that afternoon.

For once, he couldn't think of a formula to ascribe a pattern of behavior to Don. He didn't have enough data for one and he wasn't sure his brother would be happy if he had tried doing so. What was fine for a case, was not fine to be applied to a sibling.

He wondered if Don would come back to the house in the morning for their weekly Sunday brunch. From the way Don had left, he could only assume not.

Charlie drained his glass of water and refocused his attention on something he knew he would eventually solve, the math behind the functions of the brain.

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Don woke with a groan and stiffly pushed himself upright into a sitting position. He hated himself when he did this -- drink to excess and spend the evening sleeping on the couch. He always woke up in pain all over. He wasn't getting any younger and the hazards of his job were adding to the toll.

With a flick on his wrist, he looked at his watch and realized it was early morning still. He debated about going over to his brother's for brunch, still having a lingering doubt about what he was feeling. However, he knew that he had to take the situation in hand and face his demon. Plus, he knew that if he didn't show, Charlie would haunt his steps doggedly determined to find out what was wrong and Don couldn't allow that to happen. So it was best if he headed things off and put Charlie at ease after his odd behavior yesterday.

Don got up from the couch, headed for the kitchen and got a glass of water and some aspirin, then started his normal routine for the morning -- shower, shave and take a moment to read the newspaper he knew would be sitting outside his apartment door.

The shower was his usual quick scrub, instead of the thirty minute relaxing affair where he could fantasize about his latest interest and pleasure his body. His lurking fear made the shower tense and vexing.

Don stepped out of the tub and reached for a towel. While he briskly rubbed himself dry, he looked in the mirror at his reflection. Pain visibly lingered between his eyes by the furrow of his brow, and his rough night and turbulent thoughts were there for all to see in the dark bruises hugging the bottom of his eyes.

Don sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He decided to forego the shave as he noticed the tremor in his hands and went to the bedroom to get dressed. Don pulled out a clean pair of faded, worn jeans that fit perfectly and a dark blue t-shirt, along with a pair of white boxer briefs and socks.

He entered the kitchen after having finished dressing and got out a canister of coffee from the fridge. He measured out his usual two scoops that would make two large mugs of pure Kona coffee. Once the maker was set to drip, Don retrieved his Sunday edition paper from the apartment hallway.

By the time he had finished his weekend morning ritual and finished reading the paper, as well as drinking both mugs of coffee, Don had made up his mind to go back to the Eppes' family household and have brunch with his dad and brother. He could face them, for his love for his brother was filial and nothing more.

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Charlie spent the majority of the night in the garage working his numbers. By the time his mind shut down and forced him to sleep, his hands were coated in chalk, and smudges were located in various places around the rest of his body. He collapsed onto the run-down couch and was asleep within seconds of his head touching the cushion.

As strands of light crept into the garage, Charlie jerked awake with a gasp. The lingering remnants of the dream he'd had were of Don being pursued by a criminal and he had been caught in the crossfire. Both he and his brother had been wounded.

He'd never had a dream that was so vivid and real, and that scared him a little. Unlike the dream where his mom had visited, this one felt almost like a premonition. Charlie knew that if he tried to explain the dream to his dad and his brother, they would just say that it was the stress of working so closely with Don and the FBI; that he was projecting his worries subconsciously.

With a shake of his head and a roll of his shoulders, Charlie let go of the dream and his concerns and refocused on the day ahead and Don's behavior of yesterday. He hoped that whatever was bothering his older brother would be resolved soon. Charlie looked down at his watch and noticed the time; brush was only an hour and some away and he desperately needed a shower as he noticed all the chalk that coated his hands and probably dusted his hair.

With a push and a sigh, Charlie left the couch and he heard it groan under the strain. As he entered the house and called out to his dad, he realized how quiet the house was. There wasn't any sound of paper crinkling or a shower running, so Charlie assumed that his dad had gone out to get the bagels and cream cheese to go with their brunch. He headed straight for the shower off the upstairs hallway and stripped out of his dusty clothes and threw them into the dirty laundry hamper. The water for his shower took forever to heat up and he swore to write a reminder to himself once school was out for the semester to get a new hot water furnace put in.

Once the temperature was perfect, Charlie stepped in and with a long drawn out sigh of pleasure, let the water cascade over him and wash away the dirt and with it, the stresses of the last twenty-four hours. Whatever came of Don's attitude and weird behavior, they'd tackle it as a family, if needs be.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 of Unavoidable Truths

Don would later say that the events conspired that Sunday morning were brought about by the perverse bitch and twisted sister of fate. Whether by the fickleness of nature and time or just as a bizarre series of events that coincided, Don was not prepared for the sight of Charlie as he crossed the hallway from the bathroom to his bedroom, still wet and wrapped minimally with a thin, threadbare towel about his waist.

When Don had called out a tentative hello as he had entered the house, Charlie had just opened the bathroom door to allow some of the steam to escape and had called out, "I'm upstairs, Don."

And at the vision of bare, smooth skin intermixed with patches of curly chest hair that had little rivulets of water sliding down it, all of Don's carefully constructed house of lies about the nature of his feelings for his brother crumbled and fell apart. His body reacted almost immediately to the visual and olfactory stimuli, and lust raced rampant through his body, almost slamming into him as if being hit by a solid two by four board.

"Hey, Don. Glad you could make it. I wasn't sure if you'd come after that um... thing, yesterday."

Don blinked rapidly, as he tried to control his body's automatic response and to keep up with what Charlie was saying.

"Um, yeah. I, uh... spent most of the night thinking about what was bothering me."

Charlie looked closely at Don in the partially lit hallway, and noticed the bruised eyes. "So, does that mean whatever has been troubling you has been resolved?"

Don took a half step backwards and turned towards the steps he'd just come up. He had to get the sight of Charlie out of his head. "Yeah, you could say that my worries have an answer. I'll just head back down and start the coffee, while you get dressed."

"Okay. Be down in a bit," Charlie muttered to Don's departing back. Charlie got the sense that Don might have gotten some answers, but that his brother's worries were far from over.

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Don reached the kitchen first, before giving into his thoughts and emotions. He gripped the edge of the counter and squeezed as hard as he could to still the lust coursing through his body. With a pained gasp, the image of Charlie flashed this mind once more. He moaned and leaned over the counter to rest his forehead against it. Part of him wanted to throw-up from the nauseous feeling rolling in the pit of his stomach, while the other wanted to give into the other physical urgings and enjoy the pleasure by jerking off.

"Damn it. Why is this happening to me?" Don tried to calm his racing heart and quell the panic now overriding everything. He breathed in and out slowly, and willed himself to stand upright and to release his death grip on the countertop.

He forced himself to perform normal, mundane tasks of preparing the coffee and getting out the juice from the refrigerator. Once he was done, Don stopped and looked around the kitchen. It dawned on him that it was there that he had realized the true extent of his feelings for Charlie and that it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the realization had occurred.

"What in the hell am I going to do now?" he said to himself. He wasn't sure he could sit at the same table now with Charlie, consciously aware of how he felt towards his brother, and yet he couldn't very well leave without risking Charlie asking more questions -- questions he definitely could not answer.

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Charlie hurried through getting dressed and roughly brushed his damp curls. He felt that he couldn't leave Don along for long or his brother might once again disappear without some answers being given.

He quietly descended the stairs and went through the dining room, but before he could enter the kitchen, he heard Don speak, 'What in the hell am I going to do now?'

Charlie halted mid-step at those words. When no answers appeared to be forthcoming, Charlie assumed the question was self-directed. Charlie stopped from entering the kitchen and back-tracked towards the living room. He sat down quietly on the couch and gave deep thought to the events from yesterday and to this morning, paying closer attention to what Don was focused on.

Charlie leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes to replay everything. Don had been fine during the round of basketball, but it was in the kitchen that Don had started acting strange. He had wondered if Don was upset about being asked for relationship advice, just after he had left yesterday afternoon, but had dismissed it. Their dad had put Don on the spot repeatedly about Don not having a steady girlfriend or relationship, so it couldn't be that. Charlie had assumed that as Don looked at him, he hadn't been seeing him, but had been lost in thought. But with Don's change in behavior this morning, almost with a blink of his eyes, perhaps it did have to do with him. It was when Don had actually taken a good look at Charlie, that Don appeared to falter. But that made no sense to him, because Don had seen Charlie partially naked lots of times when they were growing up.

'But not since you both went off to other schools and then into different life paths,' a thought whispered in the back of his mind. 'You've grown up since then. Maybe now it's hitting him that you're no longer his _little brother_, but a grown man and his image of you in his head has changed. Maybe he doesn't want that to happen.'

Charlie opened his eyes and nodded his head. That could be the only explanation Charlie could think of for his brother's recent behavior. However, he stopped and his brow furrowed, that still didn't really explain his brother's outburst in the kitchen just moments ago. That self-directed question didn't cover the idea of a difference in image about Charlie. But before Charlie could give it anymore thought, he heard his dad enter the house and greet Don in the kitchen.

Charlie figured he had best join them.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: This is AU after the end of season two, so there will be no season three spoilers. Sorry for the long wait, this has been typed up for a while, I've just been suffering from real life. Thanks go to SeparatriX and Taran for the quick beta, and any remaining errors are mine.

**Part 4 of Unavoidable Truths**

"Good morning, Don. Glad to see you made it. I guess that means no urgent case at the moment?" Alan greeted and asked his oldest son.

"Hey, Dad. No, nothing urgent. Currently, we're just going over cold cases, doing some follow-ups to see if anything new has been found." Don tried to grin and appear as if nothing earth shattering had happened in his life, and he must have succeeded when his dad nodded and moved to the island to put down his recent purchases.

"Good. Maybe that will mean you'll have time to focus on your personal life. And speaking of a personal life, how are things going with Robin?"

Don frowned at his father's turn of the conversation. He was getting tired of having to discuss his private life and being questioned about it almost every time he came over these days. Before he could answer, Charlie walked in.

"Hey Dad, what kind of bagels did you get this morning?" Charlie asked as he went to the refrigerator and started pulling out the ingredients for their brunch -- eggs, cheese, green bell peppers, mushrooms, onion and ham for omelets.

"Multigrain and roasted garlic, plus a container of sun-dried tomato cream cheese," Alan rattled off as he pulled each item from the bag.

Don drifted back and away from the two men to the edge of the kitchen, content for once to not be either in the middle or at the front of any conversation.

Charlie started preparation of the ingredients for the omelet, while Alan got out the pan, oil and spatula, and began cracking the eggs. "Don, don't just stand there like a bump in the road, why don't you slice the bagels," Alan turned and waved his hand from Don to the bagels sitting on the counter.

Don moved with hesitant steps to help. He collected the bread knife, bagel slicer, and a basket; then deposited it all on the counter next to Charlie and his cutting board. Don went to the sink and quickly washed and dried his hands before tackling his task.

Don was conscious of Charlie in ways he'd never been before. From the corner of his eye, he watched Charlie's hands as they welded the knife deftly in cutting up the ingredients and he could feel the heat radiating off the other man's body. It fueled something inside him; caused him to burn brighter and his own heat seemed to rise. it was pure torture for Don, as he tried to stifle his body's response to being near his brother. He had to fight not only his body, but also his mind, as he tried to fight the panic welling up inside. Don breathed in deep and exhaled slowly, then placed his hands flat on the counter to stop their shaking. He hoped Charlie was so absorbed in his chopping, that he wouldn't notice Don's nervousness.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly once more, while trying to keep it relatively quiet. But Don's hopes were futile, as he saw Charlie put the cutting knife down and place a hand over his wrist and squeeze gently; Charlie didn't say a word, but the question of what was wrong could be heard all the same.

The touch of Charlie's fingers were like a brand of fire that licked across Don's skin and he once more quelled the panic that urged him to yank his arm away. He couldn't allow what he felt for Charlie to be exposed or to put their relationship as brothers at risk. He had to act normal. On his next breath, he silently repeated the phrase to himself two more times, _he had to act normal_.

Don gave Charlie a quirk of a smile, then gently extracted the arm from within Charlie's grasp and then patted Charlie on the back. Inside Don may have felt like a part of him was dying, but the facade he projected was one of calm acceptance.

Charlie was not fooled for one minute, but let the moment slide. He realized now that it definitely had to do with him, but he wasn't entirely sure how. He'd figure it out at some point, of that he was positive. Charlie turned back to the cutting board and finished dicing the green pepper.

Charlie jumped when the silence was broken when his brother spoke.

"Charlie, I've been giving it some thought about what you asked yesterday in regards to Amita. I think that no matter what, you should go with her to Harvard, even if it's for a semester. Just to see if you both have a chance at making things work. Otherwise, I think you'll always wonder, 'what if.'"

Charlie faced Don again and this time, their dad joined them at the island.

"What's this, Don? Charlie, are you still debating what to do about Amita?" Alan asked.

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, Dad. I just ... I care for Amita, but maybe it's just wanting what I can't have. That the threat of her leaving has made her somehow more desirable." Charlie threw up his hands and pushed them through his still damp curls. "It's all so complicated. She thinks that the only reason I'm willing to follow her or ask her to stay is because I'm used to having someone I can control; someone I depend on for help in my work. Both with school and the FBI. That her main attraction isn't so much her, as what position she's had in my life.

"Maybe she's right."

A heavy sigh followed Charlie's speech; his hands were still buried in his hair. Alan reached up and pulled the hands away and then drew his youngest son into a loose embrace.

"What exactly do you want, Charlie? And not what other's think you want." Alan gave Charlie a quick squeeze of encouragement.

Charlie shook his head. He honestly didn't know anymore what he wanted. In fact, since Don had left unexpectedly yesterday, he hadn't given any thought to Amita. He had solely been occupied with his equations and Don. Charlie looked at Don through lowered eyelashes and saw that his brother was staring at him, hardly blinking. And when he caught Don's eyes, Charlie was amazed to see a blush highlight Don's cheeks and his brother's head dip away as if shy at having been caught looking. Then Don turned away completely and went back to slicing bagels.

It was at that moment when everything clicked inside Charlie, like when the equations came together and the numbers made sense. The truth perplexed him. He wasn't disgusted or angry, more curious and intrigued with the knowledge. Amita didn't really want him, but his own brother did. Charlie watched as Don's hands shook slightly as he picked up the knife and placed a bagel in the slicer holder. Charlie frowned and thought that he had part of that statement wrong. His brother didn't want to want him, because Don had just encouraged him to go after Amita. That did make sense, they were brothers; you weren't supposed to desire family.

"Charlie?" his dad asked and shook his shoulder the older man's arm laid across to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry Dad. I don't honestly know what I want any more. I mean, I guess I'd want what most everyone wants and desires." Charlie paused in his speech when he noticed Don look up at him when he said the word desires. Charlie smirked at him and watched as a tinge of red stained Don's cheeks again.

"Do you even know what it is that everyone else wants? Because I certainly don't.

"Each person has unique wants, but sure, there are some basics -- like food, clothing, shelter and probably companionship. But beyond that, I'm almost certain you could calculate the variables and create a what... a curve or a distribution of the desired possibilities?" Alan released his youngest son and cuffed him upside the head as he teased him about the profession and obsession. The brothers watched as their dad went back to the eggs and finished cracking them efficiently into a mixing bowl and whipped them up, then poured in some milk.

"Charlie, are you done preparing the pepper, mushrooms and stuff for our omelets?"

"Almost, Dad. Another minute."

Charlie turned his concentration back to the items in front of him, but remained physically aware of Don.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It wasn't until after brunch and many questioning looks being cast back and forth between Don and Charlie, that the younger brother cornered the elder.

"It's alright, you know. It doesn't upset me," Charlie said, the minute Alan left to spend the afternoon at the golf course.

Don stiffened, his back was to Charlie as he looked out the window and watched their dad drive away.

"It's not alright, Charlie. In fact, it's just plain terrible and I can't believe you would think otherwise." Don turned back to face his brother, while he ran both hands through his hair in frustration.

"Don," Charlie got up from the couch and stood close to Don, "do you have a need to act on what you feel?"

"God, no!" Don jerked away, his eyes wide in horror.

"Then... What you feel is fine. Yes, it may be wrong by today's world view, but feelings are inherently never wrong, it's only how a person deals with them that potentially makes it so." Charlie smiled in understanding, hoping to convey that things really were okay between them. "Honestly Don, all I ask is that you don't let them interfere with us and with work, and you and I will be good. Don't go freaking out on me every time some stray thought or emotion passes through you.

"I mean, I can handle more the thought of you loving me and still treating me like a brother, than you freaking out and pulling away or pushing me out of your life. Don't push me away again, Don. I don't think I could bear it."

"Yeah well, I don't see how you'll be able to stay around me. Won't you misinterpret a pat on the back or read more into a glance or a look? Especially knowing that I... That I love you, that I am _in _love with you?" Don turned to look at Charlie face on and square in the eyes.

Charlie sighed. "Don, didn't you just say you had no compulsion to act on these feelings?" He watched as Don jerked his head in agreement. "Then no, I'll assume that anything directed towards me is just a show of brotherly affection. Maybe this is me being naive, but if we both acknowledge and are aware of things, we can deal with the situations as they arise."

Don thought to himself that Charlie was looking at their situation with too much innocence and not enough caution. If they were in opposite places, he knew he'd be totally freaked out. He exhaled loudly and longly, as he tried to release as much tension that had invaded his body during the last hour. Don pushed away from the window and walked back to the couch, where he dropped his body wearily down onto it. "Okay, we'll play this your way for now. But please Charlie, for goodness sake, let me know if something I'm doing or saying makes you uncomfortable. Alright?"

"Alright, I promise."

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As Don returned to work the next day, he reviewed the events of the weekend as he perused one cold case after another, many of them prior to his joining the Los Angeles branch. Flashes of memory of time spent with Charlie played inside his mind and as each one passed, the feelings he had of love and affection seemed to cement themselves and become more solid and real. He loved his brother and was in love with his brother and nothing seemed about to change it. And it terrified him on several levels; it made him question his morality and sexuality. If his brother was attractive to him, would other men be attractive too? He shook his head, thinking that wouldn't likely happen. He was already in his late 30s and never before had this happened, so it was almost safe to say that it would be an uncommon occurrence. Perhaps for once, he found someone attractive because he loved them.

Don sighed and twiddled with the pen in his hand. He was in love with Charlie and his brother had even noticed, no matter how hard he'd tried to keep it hidden. "Oh, God!" Charlie had noticed. If Charlie could notice something like this, what would his fellow co-workers find out and see, was the thought currently leaving his mind in a panic.

"Shit!" Dan expelled sharply.

"Don, everything okay?" He heard the questioning tones of Megan somewhere from the doorway. Don looked up sharply to his left and saw not only Megan, but David standing just outside his door.

"Yeah, everything's fine. What's up?" Don leaned back in his chair and forced himself to relax; he didn't want to give all the clues away on the first day.

Megan entered into the office, with David following on her heels. Both took seats and he wondered if something bad had happened. Don straightened back up, prepared for action. "Okay, you two, what is it?"

Megan looked at David and he gave her a quick nod. She turned back to Don and started her speech.

Don listened and a sense of dread filled him. He leaned his head on his hands and watched as the report in front of him blurred. They wanted to bring Charlie in on a cold case, a perfect case where his ability with numbers could maybe give them some new leads.

"Alright, but take the case to him and have him work on it when he has free time. Since the case is already five years old, a few days probably won't make much difference. If Charlie has anything to share, you two are his contacts and you can follow-up. If he needs anything, you get it for him. Just keep me in the loop."

"You got it, Don. So how are things going with your own pile of old news?" Megan asked with a grin.

"Bad enough. I just want to take out my gun and shoot holes through them. I've almost wishing someone would rob a bank. I hate this inactivity. Anyway, get out of here and see if you can run Charlie down at his office."

"See ya later, Don," both agents spoke as they left.

The team leader watched as his co-workers left his office and head to their separate cubicles, before leaving the main floor all together. His third member, Colby, was away on vacation, the lucky bastard. He'd been spared the inactivity and the cold cases. He was also somewhere tropical and relaxing on a white sandy beach with clear, blue waters stretching for miles in front of him and lots of bikini clad women to ogle. Part of Don wished he were in Colby's place, because then Don wouldn't have spent the weekend with his brother and wouldn't have had the life altering epiphany.

And with that thought, Don wandered down the path of bisexuality and why he couldn't have found one of his co-workers attractive. Why not David or Colby or even Coop? He knew from a woman's perspective that they were all handsome men. So why Charlie? Why the one man he should most definitely not have feelings for? Was it because he was already emotionally close to his brother? Had the last few cases, where his brother had been under some threat escalated things, brought everything to the fore? Was it Amita, and Charlie's constant questioning about what to do in regards to her that made him realize his brother is lovable and someone who desires love and a relationship?

Jesus, too many fucking questions and no clear answers as to why, he thought. Maybe he _should _request some time off and get away; try and wrap his head around everything. Two days was still to short a time to figure it all out. Don laughed to himself when the brief idea of getting Charlie to come up with an equation to explain the 'whys and ' crossed his mind. Though he didn't think an equation could solve matters of the heart.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. New job, yadda yadda yadda, real life, etc. This chapter was roughly beta read by Separatrix and Taran, any remaining errors are my own. Definitely AU after Season 2 and does not incorporate anything from Season 3.**  
**

**Chapter Six **

Charlie was at his desk pondering the revelation of yesterday and the discovery of Don's feelings, when he heard a discreet knock on his office door. He looked up and smiled when he saw Megan and David standing there with huge grins on their faces.

"Hey, guys. Come in. What can I do for the two of you?" Charlie looked down at his papers in front of him and scowled when he realized that he still hadn't finished grading his last class' exams due to his preoccupation about Don and he had a feeling that the presence of the two FBI agents would throw another road block into completing his tasks.

"Charlie, is now a bad time?" Megan asked as she and David approached his cluttered desk.

"I guess that all depends on what you need me for. What's up?"

"Well, as you've probably heard from Don, the office is doing a review of cold cases. David and I came across one we think could use your expertise. You'd only have to work on it in your spare time. Don's orders, since he said you'd probably be busy with end of semester grading. We'd be your contacts and that if you needed something, like additional data or whatever, we'd come to you."

Charlie felt a sinking in his stomach. He wasn't sure if he was reading more into the situation than warranted, but it felt like Don was already starting to put distance between the two of them, even though his brother had said he wouldn't. Had something changed in the last day?

"Uh, sure. What kind of case is it?" Charlie held out his hand expectantly and Megan gave him the stack of files she'd been carrying.

"It's really a string of repeats. Kidnapping and murder. Men from the age of 18 to 25. They never caught the perpetrator and after six cases reported, everything just died out and all leads ran cold. We're hoping with a fresh eye and your way with numbers, that you might spot something," David said.

Charlie flipped quickly through the six folders; he looked briefly at the pictures of each man to see if there was a common starting point. However, no commonalities could be seen at first glance.

"Have either of you tried to do a search on a pattern of six killings in other jurisdictions? Maybe instead of men, perhaps six women or six elderly or... You get the picture. Again with possible dead end trails?" Charlie asked as he continued to look through for key points that he could formulate an algorithm around.

Megan nodded and answered, "Yeah, at least for men again in the same age group. We'll look for other groupings of just six. Who knows, maybe they've already caught the perp and he just never confessed to these other murders."

Charlie caught the use of the pronoun 'he.' "You think the suspect is male?"

"I think so, yes. Based on certain psychological factors along with the fact that four of the six men in that list were in good shape, athletic and they all showed signs of heavy physical abuse before they were killed. Plus, there were signs that that the victims did fight back, whether initially or later, we have no way of knowing. So, whoever the murderer was, they had to have strength -- possibly training -- to subdue them."

Charlie hummed in agreement. He rubbed two fingers of his right hand just above his eyebrow in concentration. "Okay, I'll see what I can come up with on this data set, but hopefully with more data, I'll be able to narrow things down."

"Thanks man. We appreciate this." David stood as he spoke. "We'll get out of your hair, so you can get back to work."

"Yes, we appreciate this Charlie. And really, this isn't a rush job, take your time." Megan smiled and waved good-bye; David followed her quietly out the door.

When they were no longer in sight and their footsteps were just an echo in the hallway, Charlie closed all the file folders and put them in a neat stack on his desk off to the side of the exams. He crossed his arms atop both piles and dropped his head down with a heavy sigh. He really hoped he was misinterpreting the situation with Don; that Don wasn't pushing him out and away.

* * *

Later that evening, Don laid on his couch and surfed the channels, as he tried to find something mind numbing to watch and hopefully relax. He had a splitting headache and had hoped the beer he was currently sipping on would help him unwind. So far, the first one hadn't gotten him to the state he wanted.

By the time he had gone through two more beers, he finally felt somewhat more human and the comedy he had settled on helped with the numb mind.

Just as he was about to doze off, a rapid series of knocks on his apartment door jarred him. Don jerked back, awake now and when he sat up, preceded to knock over the empties sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. The clattering noise caused him to swear at whoever was bothering him that late at night.

Outside the door, Charlie listened to the vocal aspersions being heaped on his head and he glanced down at his watch to see that it was still moderately early by even Don's standards and wondered how bad a day Don had actually gone through.

The chains and locks were disabled and a muttered "what" could be heard before the door was entirely opened.

As soon as Charlie got a good look at his brother, he realized the source of Don's surliness. "Geez, Don. You look like shit. Bad day?"

Charlie moved past Don as he entered, dropped his bags down and went straight to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Uh, yeah. Just help yourself to whatever, Charlie," Don said with a tinge of sarcasm to his voice. He closed the door and decided to forgo doing the locks, hoping his brother wouldn't be there long enough. Don thought a bottle of water was a good idea and followed behind Charlie to the fridge to get one as well. The taste of beer had lingered just a little too long in his mouth and throat to be enjoyable.

"Why are you here, Charlie?" Don looked at his younger brother over the bottle as he tipped it back for a few swallows.

Charlie had taken a seat on the couch and was playing with the label on the bottle. He looked intensely at the beer bottles lying discarded on the floor, before he answered, "Have you changed your mind, Don?"

"What? Charlie, changed my mind about what?"

Charlie had sighed a lot in the last few days, several times today already, in fact. He sighed once more in frustration. He took a swallow of water to clear his throat and looked up at Don, straight in the eye. "Cutting me out of your life. Keeping me away from your work. Is that what today was about Don, when you sent Megan and David to me, instead of asking me to come into your office?"

The headache Don thought he had gotten rid of returned with a vengeance. The dull ache behind his eyes became acute and tension settled into his neck and shoulders. Don winced at the pain.

"A little, but not for the reasons you think, Charlie." Don moved to the couch and sat down next to Charlie with care, but then stopped himself from getting comfortable, got back up again and went to get some aspirin.

Charlie waited patiently for a more detailed explanation, though he longed to drag the truth from his brother without delay.

When Don was once more seated, he continued, "Charlie, after only one day of being in my presence, you figured out what was going on with me. I might not want to act the way I have been these last few days, but I'm bound to give some small action or look away. Megan, David and Colby are trained observers; therefore, they might clue in to things as well. Charlie, I can't have that happening. At least, not right now. My defenses are lowered and these feelings are too new. I need time to clamp a lid on them."

Charlie looked at Don in confusion. "But you said you had no compulsion to act on the feelings. How can you think it will show, if that were the case?"

Don's headache escalated at Charlie's willful ignorance. "Charlie! Just because my conscience tells me it's wrong to want you, my body still responds. Jesus, Charlie, I'm not just in love with you, I find you very attractive and highly desirable." By the end, Don was almost shouting at his brother and when the silence fell between them Don was almost afraid to look at Charlie, certain he would see disgust on his brother's face.

"Oh," was all that came as a response from Charlie. The silence, with nothing beyond the sound of two men breathing, stretched from seconds into minutes.

Don sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing the aspirin to work faster, because the headache was definitely turning into a migraine.

"I knew that, I just... I mean I knew about the love and wanting part. But not..

"You find me attractive?" Charlie's voice cracked on the last word, like his voice had done often when he'd hit puberty. It caused Don to crack a smile in remembrance.

"Yes, Charlie. If you weren't my brother and if being bisexual or homosexual or whatever, weren't so totally new to my life, I'd certainly make a pass at you."

"New? I thought maybe you had.. you know, before." Charlie waved a hand between them to try and illustrate his point, even though he couldn't really say the words.

Don shook his head and snorted, "I almost wish that were the case. I'm 38 years old and discovering something new like this, this late in my life, has certainly thrown me for a loop.

"Earlier today, after Megan and David had left the office to go see you, I thought to myself that it would have been a hell of a lot easier if I had found a male coworker attractive. Just attractive. I could deal with that, because typically the attraction comes first. Then I pursue them, and it's only after I've dated them that I might think myself in love.

"With you, I realized I loved you first. So Saturday night, I tried to convince myself that I loved you just as a brother and as a friend. That it didn't go further than that, because I hadn't let myself see how beautiful and attractive you are. Then the next morning, you come out of the bathroom still wet from the shower and clothed only in a thin bath towel around your waist and that blew apart my entire wall of denial I had tried to build for myself and hide behind. I wanted you Charlie, in that instant. I wanted to touch you and..." It was here that Don's speech faltered and Charlie saw a blush sweep across Don's face. And Charlie understood then what his brother meant about the body wanting something, even though the conscience tells you not to. Intellect versus the physical. One necessarily couldn't control the other.

"So, are we good again?" Don asked nervously.

"Yeah, we're good. I should probably get going and leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening in peace, while I go home and finish grading." Charlie stood up and walked back to the entrance. He picked up his bags from where he dropped them earlier and slung them over his shoulder with a small grunt.

"How much longer before the semester is truly over?" Don leaned up next to the wall just inside the small entry hallway; he crossed his arms in order to prevent himself from doing something stupid -- like give Charlie a more than friendly hug. For in the last few minutes, the stress and strain of Charlie's emotions were finally taking their toll and now his brother looked like shit too and Don wanted to comfort him.

"Friday is the end, after that I've got a few weeks of vacation I definitely plan on using and then when I get back, I'm going to spend the summer focusing on my own research. Of course, I'll also be available to you... to the FBI for any case work."

"Vacation, huh? Where are you going? Because I was thinking of taking some time off as well," Don ask nonchalantly, unsure himself about his motives for even asking.

Charlie smirked and decided to tease Don a little bit. "Vegas. I thought I might recoup some of the money from purchasing the house and I'll need additional cash for sure to do the upgrades for it as well. So, are you asking because you might want to come along or are you asking so not to visit the same location and prevent us from running into one another?"

Don smiled, glad that Charlie wasn't upset and could even tease about his last option being true. "Vegas sounds good. Let me see if I can get the time off with such short notice and if I do, I'll be happy to join you. I could stand to lose a few bucks. It's not like I spend much on anything else beyond the basics."

Charlie nodded in understanding, and Don watched as the dark, silky looking curls brushed and caught the edges of Charlie's jaw, tangling in his stubble. The sight caught him and longing spiraled through him again, this time urging him to twine his fingers into his brother's hair. Don's breathing hitched as the hunger rushed through his body so quickly and he clenched his jaw and hands into fists fighting to control himself, to prevent himself from taking action.

Charlie's eyes flew wide open as he saw the change in Don and realized it was one of those times where desire fought with control and the lust Don was feeling could be seen in his eyes and in the tight way he held his body. As much as Charlie was stunned and intrigued by the vision of an aroused Don, he was sure that Don would be more grateful to him if he removed the object of temptation from his brother's sight. So he stuttered out to Don a good-bye as he walked backwards to the door, and then turned and left the apartment carefully closing the door as he left.

Don came back to the present as he barely heard Charlie's farewell and then saw only the door closing. Don visibly deflated in defeat and sadness. For he was certain, that having finally seen Don physically respond to Charlie, that Charlie truly understood the magnitude and depravity of the situation. Don could only hope that a call to apologize would set things straight between them.

TBC (I have chapter seven written and the beginnings of chapter eight, so I hope to get more up soon).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Chapter beta read by Separatrix. Thank you dear for going over it for me. Any errors remaining are my own. Chapter 8 is written, just not typed up and chapter 9 is in the works. So sometime in a week or so, I'll have another chapter up.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 7 **

Charlie just made it to his office with five minutes to spare, thankful no students were currently waiting for him. Down the hall in one of the classrooms, he could make out the sounds of another exam being proctored and was very thankful his had all been given early in the schedule. Charlie left his door propped open and sat his bags down on his desk. He was reaching in to remove the last batch of exams to be graded when he heard what sounded like automatic weapons firing from the hallway. Charlie grabbed his cell phone from the bag instead, and flipped it open and pressed the speed dial for Don's cell phone. Before he could lift it up to his ear, he saw from the corner of his eye someone enter his doorway and he promptly dropped his phone down next to his bag, but out of sight. He covered the top end of the phone with his hand, when he saw a ski-masked covered face and a gun in the man's hands. Charlie hoped Don had answered.

"What do you want? Why are you here firing off shots?" Charlie wanted to panic. Seeing someone with a gun, possibly ready to fire, reminded him too much of that moment at FBI headquarters when the one man had just come in shooting. He hadn't been able to go near Don's office for days, too scared and emotionally paralyzed with fear.

"Are you Professor Charles Eppes?" a rough, altered voice asked.

"What if I am? Are you here for me?"

Charlie's entire body shook, this was not how he wanted to die and especially not now. He was still too young and had many things he wanted to accomplish yet.

"Actually, we're here because of your brother. We're holding you and unfortunately, the rest of the students on this floor as hostages in exchange for him. We've sent him a message demanding his surrender and now that we've secured you we'll let him know when and where. When he does bring himself in, well... we'll just see about letting you and the others go." Through the mask, Charlie could see the lips twist into a parody of a smile. The man came closer and waves his gun at Charlie, indicating that he wanted the professor to move into the hallway. Charlie could already hear the rest of the terrified students being herded into the narrow hallway. Charlie hesitated for a moment wondering what to do about the phone. He didn't think he could slip it into a pocked without being observed, so he left it where it was and followed the man. He decided it was best not to enrage the hostage taker into doing something rash by disobeying him.

Charlie noticed immediately three other men with semi-automatic guns patrolling the hallway, using their weapons to effectively cow and subdue the students lining the walls. The fourth man, the one who had retrieved him, pushed his gun into Charlie's back and told him to sit with his back to the wall. Charlie was more than willing to follow the command, not sure if his legs would have held him up much longer anyway.

With his arms wrapped about his legs, he hugged them to his chest; he willed for things to be resolved soon, without anyone getting hurt and the hostage takers getting due justice.

* * *

Don's morning had started out on the wrong foot; what with too little sleep from having tossed and turned all night, to getting a phone call demanding he come into work ASAP just as he was about to step into the shower.

After hastily getting dressed instead of taking the shower, Don drove to work as fast as the speed limit would allow. All the while, he wondered if something major had come up.

The moment he stepped through the main office doors, David and Megan waylaid him. "Don, a call came in twenty-minutes ago demanding you in exchange for some hostages. They said they'd call back on the hour to give us the final details," David got out in a rush as he shoved a copy of the transcript from the first call.

"Were you able to trace the call? And why the hell would they take hostages if they were after me? Why not just try to grab me directly?"

Don listened as Megan explained that the call terminated before they could get a lock on it. As to the other questions, his team could only speculate. "A publicity stunt perhaps? Or maybe they want to draw our attention away from some other event?"

Don nodded when he heard the latter suggestion. "Most likely they have another heist planned or something. I wonder who they've got as hostages."

The FBI agents sat tensely by the phone while they waited for the call to come in, and they all jumped when two minutes before the hour Don's cell phone rang.

Don looked at the call display and saw it was from Charlie. For a second, he debated if now was the appropriate time to have a conversation with his brother, but decided to at least let Charlie know he'd call him back when he had the time.

"Charlie, can I call..." Don stopped as heard from a distance Charlie talking. _'... you want? Why are you here firing off shots?'_

Don paled and immediately covered the end of the cell phone. "They've got Charlie. He's probably at his office."

As he continued to listen, he watched as Megan and David called together a team. He heard Charlie walk away through the phone and knew that he'd have no way of getting a chance to talk to his brother alone and he could only home the hostage takers would let him talk to his brother when they called to give more details.

On the hour, the call came through to his desk phone and Don answered it promptly, "Agent Eppes."

"Ah, Agent Eppes. So nice of you to be available to take our call. As you're aware, we want you in exchange for the hostages we have here. What you might now know is that we have your brother and twenty students. You have one hour to get here to Cal-Sci. We've got the entire floor covered, so no surprises. And come unarmed Agent Eppes, otherwise we will hurt someone, more than likely your brother. One hour."

Just as Don was about to make his demand, a click was heard as the call terminated. Dan slammed the phone down onto the cradle, frustrated that he hadn't had a chance to ask to speak with Charlie. He looked to David and Megan expectantly. "The trace on the call from Charlie says that the it did originate at the tower nearest the university. So we can assume they have indeed taken Charlie hostage and the person we're dealing with is there with him. You're right, Don. It doesn't make any sense." David shook his head perplexed.

"One of you call the administration at Cal-Sci and alert them to the situation and have them find some blueprints to Charlie's building to see if there are any alternative ways in. If there are, we can possibly take them by surprise. I'll go in, unarmed just as they asked. David, I want you behind me. Megan you'll cover the hallways other entrance at the rear of the building. The rest of the team will canvas the sides and windows in sniper positions.

"Okay, everyone suit up and let's move."

* * *

The situation had turned to hell quickly. Don had gone in as requested, but the minute he stepped through the door, the main man lifted his gun and aimed to take fire. Charlie heard the safety click off and knew that the hostage takers weren't going to let anyone out alive, themselves included. Charlie stood up quickly and one of the other three men rounded on Charlie; he fired as Charlie pushed the shooter aiming at Don as hard as he could. Charlie took a bullet to the shoulder and he saw as he started to fall, Don get clipped in the leg after the man he had pushed had fired, thankfully his aim now skewed. After that, it all became a blur of motion, screams of terror and the sounds of bullets being fired. Charlie let the pain take over and he slipped into unconsciousness.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks to Separatrix for beta reading this chapter. Chapter 9 will be slower coming as real life issues have interrupted my writing. Some vandals decided to graffiti our garage, spent a good chunk of the weekend trying to get paint off of vinyl. Let me tell ya, it's a right royal pain.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 8**

Charlie didn't remember much after that, for the next time he woke lucid, he was in the hospital. He looked around the room and was glad to see his dad, Megan and Larry, Amita, and David standing around another bed. Between them, he saw Don lying there awake and talking. Charlie cleared his throat to speak and he watched as the others turned to him with wide grins on their faces.

"Hey guys," Charlie spoke in a harsh, whispery voice -- his voice dry, which he would assume was from surgery.

"Charlie, nice to see you awake and stirring. How are you feeling, Son?" Alan asked his youngest child, as he stood just down from the head of the bed so Charlie could also look over and see Don clearly.

"Okay, I guess. At the moment, I'm feeling no pain. But could someone get me some water?" Charlie's throat felt like the dry Nevada desert sand.

David volunteered and the others stood for a moment in silence, as if unsure of what to say next. Before Charlie could ask any more questions, Don got one of his own in.

"What the hell were you thinking Charlie, when you got in the way?" Don's voice was filled with anger and hurt; but to Charlie's ears alone, he could hear the fear and concern.

"Don, leave your brother alone! Now is not the time and here is not the place to discuss this. Is that understood?" Alan looked fiercely at Don, putting his foot down with conviction towards his son.

Everyone watched as Don turned away and his jaw clenched with frustration, and in all likelihood pain. "Fine. I'll argue with Charlie when we're both feeling better."

At a touch on his wounded shoulder, Charlie looked up at David and was handed a plastic cup with a straw hanging over the edge. "Thanks, man. So what happened? Was anyone else hurt?" Charlie raised his head slowly and took a sip of cool water and sighed in relief as the parched feeling was washed away.

"Just to the men who had taken you and the others hostage. They've already been IDed," David paused and looked over towards Don to make sure his team leader was listeing before he continued. "The leader of the hostage takers was the brother to Colonel Wells, his name is Calvin Wells. You remember Colonel Wells, don't you Don?"

Don turned back towards the others and nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, one of the first cases I'd been assigned on arrival at the L.A. office. It was just before we'd brought you in Charlie, as a consultant. That man was a total nut case. Thought he was still in a military prison camp in Iraq and had finally found a way to escape, by killing his detainers. Instead, he was killing innocent people. He thought we were reinforcements come to restrain him and take him back to his prison cell and so he kept shooting at us. We tried to take him without harming him or the others, but he ended up taking a hit to the femoral artery. Bled to death before help could arrive. Part of me always felt bad that it went down so wrong, that for all his hallucinations and dementia, he was just as innocent as the others. He couldn't help what he was doing." Don sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in weariness.

"So, his brother wanted payback and I was the focus of his revenge, I take it?"

David moved to stand closer to Don's hospital bed. "We can only assume so. One of the other men who was hired was told it would very likely be a suicide mission, but that they were to be compensated very well for that fact. Before the man died, he said all of them who'd been retained for the job were already terminally ill and had little life or health insurance coverage. Their families were given twenty thousand a piece for the hostage job. They had nothing to lose, really."

Don shook his head when he heard the details of the case. "It just all sounds so convoluted in order to get back at me. Why not just take a shot at me directly? Why involve so many innocent lives?"

David shrugged and both agents looked at Megan, who was the team's profiler. "I can only speculate as to his reasons why. From the way the situation had been set up, Calvin Wells wanted you to have a personal stake in a hostage situation and what better way than for one brother to suffer while the other is left behind to grieve. Maybe once we investigate his residence, we'll find more evidence and answers," Megan said as she leaned back against the wall, rubbing her shoulder against Larry, as if drawing support from him.

Before anyone could speak further, the door to the room opened and a matronly looking nurse entered and spoke forcefully to usher everyone out, including Alan. She firmly stated visiting hours were over and that they could come back tomorrow at 9 am. Their father bade them to have a good night and left after briefly squeezing each of their shoulders in a show of support and love.

As Megan and David were about to leave, Don issued a directive, "Keep me up-to-date and tell me what you learn tomorrow." Larry followed the two of them out, also wishing both men and speedy recovery. Amita was the last one left.

Amita grasped Charlie's hand and leaned over the prone academic. "I'll come by tomorrow too. Want me to bring a complex math problem for you to solve during your enforced stay?"

Charlie nodded, "Actually, Megan and David dropped off some files for a cold case they wanted my help on. Plus, I _still _need to finish grading my last set of exams. If you could go by my office, if it's not sealed off as a crime scene, my bags should still be on my desk. If you could just bring them with you, I would be grateful."

Amita released Charlie's hand and pushed a strand of hair back away from her face and tucked it behind an ear. "Sure. Anything else?"

Behind Amita stood the nurse looking very impatient, so Charlie shook his head and told her to take care and to have a good night. Not expecting anything further from Amita, Charlie was surprised when she leaned over the bed rail and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay, Charlie. I think you and I need to have a long talk when I stop by tomorrow. Sleep well."

Through it all, Don had laid quietly in his bed and watched the exchange between his brother and the person of his brother's affections. When it was just the two of them left, the silence stretched, and they turned to look at each other. Each wondering how the hell they constantly ended up in such awkward situations.

Don broke the strain of silence first. "I think Amita might be willing to stay here and pursue a relationship with you, instead of going off to Harvard. Now's your chance, Chuck." Even though Don was still furious with Charlie for risking his life, he still cared for his brother's happiness. If Charlie was in a relationship, he would be spending less time with the family, therefore being less of a temptation in weakening Don's control.

Charlie quirked a small smile at Don. "Don't call me Chuck, And as to Amita..." Charlie sighed. He honestly wasn't sure what he wanted in regards with her anymore. Learning that Don, his own brother, desired him had totally thrown his whole view on relationships, love and lust off tangent.

"What Charlie?"

"I'll just have to wait and hear what she has to say. It could very well be that she can't be in a relationship with me because she'd always worry in fear that something might happen to me or even her by being associated with the FBI. It could go either way, Don." Charlie turned his head back to face forward. "How about, since I assume we're stuck here for a few more days, you turn on the television and find us a game to watch. I'll try and distract myself by calculating the percentages of who the winner will be."

"Okay. But Charlie, you and I will _definitely _be having a conversation about your recklessness soon as we're both out of here. However... Thanks."

Charlie turned and his eyes fell square into Don's own. He saw the love, friendship, the fear and the confusion lurking in the gaze cast his way. "Thanks for what?"

"For saving me. I hadn't expected this Wells guy to take aim for a kill shot so quickly, especially one right to the eyes."

"Well, he had to know that you'd be wearing a vest. That would be standard procedure. I can only assume that he'd been planning this almost from day one."

A softly spoken word of affirmation was heard, followed by a long sigh. Charlie worried that with everything that had happened over the last few months, especially with the members of the Eppes family being threatened repeatedly, that Don would start to question his career choices or at the very least living so near to his family while working in a dangerous line of work.

"Whatever is going through your head, Don, you should just forget it. Dad and I can and will cope with whatever happens."

Charlie watched as Don opened his mouth to speak and Charlie cut him off, "Don, please. You can't leave us again and you can't give up being an FBI agent. Just accept that Dad and I would put up one hell of a fight if you did try to do either.

"Alright?" Charlie asked with force.

Don looked like he still wanted to argue, but the set expression in his younger brother's face seemed to dissuade him. "This will be something else we'll discuss again at a later time. So a game, let's see what sports channel the hospital gets."

He reached for the remote control on the table between the two beds and turned the set on. Once a game was settled on, both men fell into their usual habits when both were together. They joked and ribbed each other, and the natural camaraderie of the brothers was restored.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks got to Separatrix for looking over this chapter, and any remaining errors are my own. I'm posting this a day early, however the next chapter might be a few days later in coming. I have ch 10 outlined in my head, but I haven't started writing it yet. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. As a reminder this story is totally AU after season two.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 9**

A night of dreamless sleep, thanks to the pain pills the nurse on night duty dosed both men with, was welcomed. Charlie knew that otherwise, he would have dreamed of Don being shot because he had been too paralyzed with fear to move.

The nurse brought a light breakfast of cereal, milk and juice. Charlie knew that Don would be wishing for a cup of coffee. Both men were silent throughout the meal, each lost in their own thoughts.

By mid-morning, the room was filled up once more with their family, friends and co-workers. Larry dropped in for a moment to confer with Charlie on a project they were working together on. Amita brought the exams Charlie desperately needed to grade, along with the six case files found in his bags.

"Thanks, Amita. I appreciate this. Now that I've got enforced downtime, I can plow right through these in no time."

"Did you want me to look through the case files while you grade?" Amita asked. She had taken one of the two chairs occupying the room and placed it close to Charlie's bed.

Charlie considered the offer briefly, then declined it. "It's a cold case. There's really no rush on getting it solved. If you can can, come back this afternoon sometime around 2:30 or 3, we can have that talk you wanted and if I have the exams done, you could drop the grades off for me when you return to school?" Charlie gave her his most charming smile, in the hopes of getting her to do his bidding once more.

"Sure, Charlie. I have my own grades to get together and submit, so I'll come back later. How are you feeling ... better?" She reached out and placed her hand on his arm; she patted it carefully.

"I'm doing okay. At least classes are over and I don't have to wave my arms up at the chalkboards to get the numbers and equations across to them. The doctor dropped in this morning after breakfast and told me that my arm will be in a sling for at least two weeks while the torn muscles knit back together. He told me I was lucky nothing vital was hit and no bones were shattered. I've been thinking that after the sling comes off I'll take a nice leisurely vacation."

Don called over to Charlie while he listened in to their conversation, "Yeah, Vegas. I've been considering doing the same. I don't have think I've taken a day of vacation in what... three years?" Don looked at David at the foot of the bed with his eye brow cocked upwards.

David nodded his head and rolled his eyes. "Workaholic! I think you're the only one of us who never takes off. The rest of us have all had some time off this year. You just keep going. I think this time though you're not going to have a choice, Don; the time off will probably be foisted on you."

"Yeah, I know. So, Charlie, you still want me along on your vacation, buddy? Knowing full well I'll probably slow you down with my hobbling on a cane?" Don knew that they had tentatively decided to vacation together just two nights ago, but with the possible change in the relationship between Charlie and Amita, he was no longer certain of where they stood with one another. Even to his eye, Don saw that Amita was leaning towards staying and trying to form a relationship with Charlie. He had clearly seen the concern she had for his younger brother.

Charlie smiled brightly back at Don. Even though Don was more than likely still pissed off at him for putting his life at risk, he still wanted to spend time with him. They were still brothers. "You know I do, Don. You can act like my good luck charm," he spoke the last with a hint of sarcasm.

Don snorted and laughed. "You're a laugh riot, Chuck. More like a bad luck charm." The others nodded in agreement with that statement and laughed lightly.

Alan watched the by-play between his two boys and was very glad to see that they were both doing well and suffering no lasting ill affects from yet another crisis. The last few days, even from the events on the weekend, had had him concerned. He'd felt the tension in Don all through breakfast on Sunday and the curiosity that poured out of Charlie, who had been constantly watching Don as if trying to decipher a puzzle. He'd made the right call in letting them alone to discuss whatever was going on, and had gone to play some golf.

Alan left his sons to recuperate and said he'd be back for a visit after dinner. Amita left not soon after and that left the three agents and Charlie to discuss the events that led them to now.

Don looked at Megan and David expectantly and Megan stepped forward to grab a chair. "We were pretty much dead on with our initial analysis based on our investigation into Calvin Wells and his actions from yesterday. He kept a detailed journal of everything from the moment he'd been told of his brother's death. His anger and frustration, his planning and executing his plans. He'd had pictures of you and Charlie together at several cases over the last year, and many of them of just you and Charlie going about your daily lives. He'd thought of taking Charlie hostage several times, but always felt he wasn't up to the task just yet. Then a turn came, apparently about two months ago, when Calvin had gone to see a doctor about the headaches that he'd been having."

Charlie spoke up then, "Tumor?" Megan turned to look Charlie in the eyes and nodded solemnly. "Yes, he had a brain tumor. The doctor hadn't give him very long, said the tumor was inoperable and that the pressure on his brain would soon become too much. So it gives Calvin the idea, that if he knows he's going to die, that he'll go out with a big bang. He came up with the idea of helping other men who where in similar positions and posted notices in the want ads of the LA Times. And the rest is known."

David picked up from Megan, "We've got the crime scene analyzers going over the site with a fine tooth comb, making sure everything was done according to procedure, so that we can close the case without having to go up against Internal Affairs. Since you were both shot and wounded, they've asked for DNA samples to compare with for marking the crime scene; I've brought two swabs along. So, who wants to go first?" David held up the white plastic containers just big enough to hold the swabs.

Don and Charlie looked at one another and then pointed fingers at the other brother. "He can," both said at the same time. They chuckled and Don looked back at Megan and David. "Might as well be me. Not like you have to take any more blood for comparison. So I'm opening wide." David smiled and popped the top of the container and pushed the swab through and ran it on the inside of Don's cheek, resealed the container and labeled it. He followed the same procedure with Charlie.

"Thanks, guys. We should get out of your hair and let you two rest up. The sooner you are out here, the sooner you can get back to doing your normal things, like vacations. You're really considering going to Vegas?" David pointed the question at Charlie.

"Yeah, like I told Don, the house is eating into my savings, and I'm really wanting to get some repairs and renovations done on it, so Dad will quit complaining about what a horrible landlord I am. So, I figured I would take a small bit of the savings and try and parlay it into a bigger sum."

David and Megan smiled. "Good luck with that, man. Can't say I'd gamble to make a quick buck, but then again, I'm not math genius like you are. Don, what you hoping to get out of a visit to Vegas?"

Don gave it some thought before he answered, "The shows and the food. Maybe take in some of the sights. I doubt I'll hit the tables for anything, maybe do a few slot machines. I'm wanting to rest and relax, and gambling isn't my idea of relaxation. Who knows, maybe I'll just sit by the poolside and enjoy the view of all the lovely ladies in scantily clad bikinis." Don forced a smile to his lips as he said that, though inside he was cringing for all he was worth. Here he was trying to muddy the waters and re-enforce the idea that he was a ladies man through and through; when instead of imagining the scantily clad ladies, he had pictured Charlie in swimming trunks coming out of the pool dripping wet.

Charlie's smile drooped a little while Don was going through his suggested itinerary while in Las Vegas, and he pushed the vague disappointment he was feeling aside. Not wanting to analyze what Don had said to cause the reaction. He turned his attention away from everyone else and focused on the exams in front of him. He was only half way through the pile and he needed all his concentration to get through grading them. He listened with a light ear at the continuing conversation between Don and his co-workers, and waved a short good-bye when the others left. Charlie had immersed himself into his numbers once more.

By the time mid-afternoon had rolled around, Charlie had finished grading the exams and tabulating his students' final grades. He was relieved that all of them had done exceedingly well and had put a considerable amount of effort into their examinations. In the beginning of his grading, he had watched Don from the corner of his eye, as his brother fidgeted a bit before he had flipped on the television and lowered the sound to something approaching a whisper. He had briefly sent a smile of gratitude his brother's way, silently thanking him for making it easier to focus on his work. As the hours passed, he had become so focused on the exams that he hadn't noticed when Don had turned the television off and settled in to read a book instead. After having finished the exams and grades, he had moved on to looking through the case files. It took the opening of the hospital room door to jolt Charlie back to the realm of the aware, and he watched as a nurse came in bearing another round of meds. Charlie turned to Don to roll his eyes at their regulated medicating schedule and found Don looking at him, and yet not looking at him, like Don was lost in his own thoughts.

"Don, it's time for the next round of pain killers. You with me, bro?"

Charlie watched as Don slowly blinked his eyes back to awareness. "Huh? What?"

Charlie pointed to the nurse that stood at the foot of his bed. "More pain killers.

"Will we be getting out tomorrow, do you think?" Charlie asked the woman as she tried to set her tray down on the rolling table in front of him; he made room for her hastily as he gathered up the folders and put them away.

The nurse was the same matronly woman from the night before and with a kindly smile, she told them she believed so. "Doctor McCallum thinks you'll be fine, as long as you go back to your homes and take it easy. Nothing strenuous and overly taxing, and you should both be right as rain in a few weeks." She then gave both men their medication and then proceeded to take their temperatures and blood pressure. She noted everything down in their charts with a pleased hum.

Just as the nurse was about to leave, the door opened and Amita entered once more.

"Hey, Amita. Get your grades all done?"

Amita smiled and took the chair she had occupied this morning. "Hi Charlie, hi Don. They're ready to go, I brought them with me, so I'll turn yours in at the same time I submit mine."

She looked from Charlie to Don and back again, then leaned in closer to Charlie and whispered, "Is now alright to have our conversation?"

Charlie glanced briefly at Don and his brother got the hint and picked up the book he had been reading earlier and turned away from the other occupants of the room. If nothing else it gave the illusion of privacy.

"What did you want to talk about Amita?" Charlie kept his voice low, though he knew Don would still be capable of hearing every word spoken.

"Us, Charlie. The possibility of us. I've been thinking non-stop about whether or not I should stay or go to Harvard. There are so many remarkable opportunities for me in both places, but I've been considering that with you here, it helps tip the scale in the favor of my staying. Hearing that you'd been shot..." The words petered out as her voice lowered to an ever quieter whisper. He could almost hear the words she didn't say, but were thinking and feeling, _'made me realize how much you meant to me.'_ Amita looked down at her clenched fists and relaxed them, she then placed one of her hands over Charlie's, the one connected to the shoulder that had been wounded. She gently squeezed it to show her reassurance and support.

Charlie was laying there quietly, absorbing all her words. Don had been right about what Amita had wanted, and now that everything he had argued for with her since he'd learned of her choices was within his grasp, the words he had spoken out loud just days ago to his family came back to him. _maybe it's just wanting what I can't have. That the threat of her leaving has made her somehow more desirable.'_ Did he still desire her for her? Would his seeing her, help or harm things with Don? Hadn't Don pushed him to pursue Amita, urging him to go after her if she did leave? He looked at her and saw that the smile she had previously had on her lips was now turned into a frown and he realized he had been silent for too long.

"I wasn't expecting you to say that, to be honest. I had thought that with everything that has been happening lately, that you'd be concerned for your own safety and decide to go to Harvard. That you would be telling me you'd finally made the decision to leave." Charlie wasn't ready, at that moment to commit to or comment on their being an 'us.' He looked over at Don and saw that Don's back looked tense and stiff. Charlie wanted to reach out and soothe the tension away.

"Oh, Charlie. I wouldn't tell you that while you are laying in the hospital, hurt and injured. How about you and I try going out again to dinner and a movie later this week? You'll be up for that won't you?"

Charlie was feeling a bit cornered. He really wanted to talk with Don, see how he was feeling before he said yes, but Amita was looking so expectantly at him that he nodded his head yes. "Ah, sure. The nurse just told Don and I that the doctor thinks we could go home tomorrow. So with a few days of rest, and a dinner at a quiet restaurant, I should be okay." His face smiled, but inside he felt strained.

"Good. That's wonderful. I'll make all the arrangements then." She got up and leaned over to kiss Charlie on the cheek. "Do you have the grades all ready to go? I should try and get back before the office secretary leaves, so I can turn in the grades to her."

Charlie reached down next to his leg on the bed and handed a brown envelope to her. "Yes, signed, sealed and ready to be delivered. Thanks for doing this, Amita. I really appreciate your running errands for me."

"No worries, Charlie. Just leave a message at the office letting me know what the plans are for tomorrow. If you're going home, I'll stop by in the evening. Maybe I can help you then with the case files. I'll be sure to bring my laptop."

"Sure, that would be great. I'll see you tomorrow." He waved good-bye to her with his good hand, and the minute the door closed, he sighed long and hard. "Don't even say it, Don."

"Say what, Charlie?" Don asked as he turned carefully over to face his brother once more. He put the book down gently on the night stand between them.

"I told you so." Charlie smirked and rolled his eyes as the sarcastic phrase was uttered.

"I wouldn't do that, Chuck. I'm the soul of discretion." Don smirked right back at Charlie, his eyes alight with mischief.

"Uh huh, sure. Why don't I believe that for one second?"

Don's smile slowly faded away as he continued to look at Charlie. He had known it was coming, the situation with Amita. And yet, hearing the words... hearing her say "us" to Charlie hurt him deeply. And yet, it was what he wanted for Charlie, and for himself. It was. _Don't lie to yourself, Don. You know that if things were different, that if he weren't your brother, you'd be after him like a dog chasing after a meaty bone. _But that wasn't going to happen, not in this universe anyway. He sighed, and looked Charlie straight in the eyes when he spoke next. "Don't let how I feel interfere with you and her. I know you said that you weren't sure about things, but give it a chance.

"Just give it a chance, Charlie." He couldn't stress it enough to himself how much he needed Charlie to be _taken._

Charlie let the words quietly wash over him and he slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay. You're right, Don. I should see if things do pan out." Charlie shook himself gently and then turned his attention to the television. "How about we see if there's anything on until dinner time. I don't think I'm up to focusing on the case files at the moment."

"Sure, buddy. Anything in particular?"

"Nah, how about the news. See what's been going on on the outside, while we've been stuck in here." And with that, the two men once more turned their attention to the magic black box hanging from the wall, glad that the world's problems can make them forget about their own for a change.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Lovely thanks goes to Separatrix not only for beta reading, but also contributing a fair bit of the last quarter of this chapter. Your letting me bounce ideas off you is wonderful, and I appreciate everything you do.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 10**

Friday came slowly for Don and Charlie. They'd been home from the hospital since Thursday morning and Don was staying at the Eppes' house, so as to make it easier on their father in looking after them. It hadn't taken any arm twisting on Alan or Charlie's part to get Don to agree. He honestly hadn't wanted to go back to his small apartment by himself. He already spent a large portion of his free time hanging out at his childhood home, especially in the evenings for dinner and watching television. He enjoyed the company of his family, even when they spent endless amounts of time ribbing him about his love life or lack thereof.

As she had promised Wednesday afternoon, Amita had come by Thursday evening to chat with Charlie and tell him about the plans for their date Friday night, and even though she had brought her laptop to go over the cold case Megan and David had left Charlie to work on, Charlie had begged off claiming to be too tired. Amita had looked slightly put out with Charlie and had decided then that it was time to leave. But she had perked up again as she enthused about the date once more as Charlie walked her to her car. Don hadn't been able see what was going on outside on the driveway, and had been peeved with himself for caring -- that he shouldn't dwell on the possibility of Charlie kissing her good night, and that he wished to be in Amita's place. He had paid careful attention to Charlie when he'd walked back into the house moments later. The expression on his younger brother's face had given nothing away and Don had huffed and then lay back down to get comfortable; the throbbing in his leg was no longer present due to the help of the pain medication he'd taken. Don had heard the sounds of a whispered good night and then footsteps ascending the stairs, by the time Charlie had reached the top, Don had fallen asleep.

Don had spent the better portion of the morning laying on the couch that he was temporarily calling his bed, as he couldn't tackle the stairs with his injured leg, thinking about everything that had happened in the last week. What kept playing in his mind were the events predominately from Monday night and Tuesday morning. Don had been holding off having the discussion with Charlie about his interference in the FBI operation in the hostage situation on Tuesday, but now that they were home and had had a good night of relatively undisturbed sleep, he felt it was time. Charlie would be preparing for his night out with Amita soon, and Don had the ultimate goal of using the upcoming argument to push Charlie away and into the arms of Amita. Or at least to make him more receptive to a romance with her. It tore at his heart, but he knew the sacrifice was worth it, especially for his sanity and the sake of his father's well-being, who would have a stroke to know that one son was _in love_ with the other.

The sound of footsteps hitting the treads of the stairwell jolted Don back to the here and now. He had rehearsed his speech repeatedly inside his own head and knew that all the points he was going to outline were valid. But the moment Don saw the pain etched around Charlie's eyes, he knew in his heart that he couldn't go through with it. Because for all his arguments, Charlie had the most solid of all -- his brotherly love and concern. When it came down to it, no matter what the situation, if one brother was in trouble and in need, the other would go out of their way to help and protect. Don sighed and rolled his head to release the tension that had suddenly built up in his neck. He hated it when emotions got in the way of obligations and logistics. He always tried to think with a clear head and keep his eye on the goal -- saving and protecting the innocent and bringing down the scumbags who put them in danger. He knew though that his walking directly into the hallway, without a visible weapon and wearing only a vest and not even a shatter proof visor and helmet had been truly careless on his part and due more to his haste in reaching his brother. His own heedless actions spoke just as much as Charlie's rush to help him.

Don thought for a moment of having the argument anyway, just so that his true goal could be reached, but decided against it when the pain on Charlie's face and the tension in his body became more noticeable.

"Charlie, have you taken your medication yet today?" Don wanted to swing his leg off the couch and make room for Charlie to sit down so they could talk more intimately, but instead settled for patting the chair sitting close by, in the hopes of encouraging a conversation.

Charlie sank down slowly into the chair, being careful not to jar his arm. He leaned back against the chair with an almost exaggerated sigh, but Don knew that Charlie really was thankful to be resting. "Charlie, you've been working haven't you?" Without waiting for the positive reply he knew he'd get after several minutes of hemming and hawing, he continued on, "You know the doctor told you...told us, to rest and not to tackle anything too strenuous. For you that means, no calculations, no formulas and no number crunching." Don sighed. "You were working on the cold case, weren't you?"

Charlie spoke softly, "Yeah, I know I shouldn't have, but I felt guilty for not having accomplished anything yesterday, especially after Amita had come over to help. I thought I should try and make some in-roads into deciding on what calculations to use for narrowing down where to look and who to look for. I'd also been hoping that Megan or David would have come up with additional possible case files that matched the base criteria I'd given them on Monday."

Don laughed softly, knowing his team as well as he did. "Charlie, I think maybe you might need to remind them again. They've probably gotten sidetracked with what happened to us on Tuesday. Tracking down and making sure the case is air tight with the actions we took, and that Internal Affairs can't point the blame for the deaths of the hostage takers at me or them."

Charlie looked at Don as he lay there on the couch, in careful repose. He knew Don hated being inactive, but being hampered by a wounded leg and stuck reading and watching television for hours on end must be galling to his brother. "You don't think they'll come after you, do you, for not following procedure?"

"I followed procedure," Don said gruffly, though internally he flinched, knowing he was lying through his teeth.

Charlie laughed and then grunted with pain, as he cradled his arm closer to his body. "Yeah, walking into a hostage situation unarmed and without trying to negotiate first. You certainly followed procedure, Donnie."

"Wells hadn't really given me a lot of time to get myself and a plan together. One hour just barely let me find the plans to the building and have snipers set up at the windows to find a clear shot through the doors. " Then he spoke more softly, as if baring his soul was something not to be discussed at in normal tones, "I couldn't risk you Charlie, and you know damn well why. You mean too much to me, and I would have risked my life and every one of my team's lives as well to make sure you were safe and unharmed. You're right, I didn't follow procedure then, and I won't if something like this happens again."

Charlie sat in silence, as the words spoken penetrated his pain fogged mind, "But you would have followed procedure before... before... Well, just before. You shouldn't let how you feel change how you deal with FBI related issues." The _for me_ was left unspoken, but clearly understood by both men.

"I'll try not to, but we all know what happens with good intentions." Don shuffled his butt down on the couch cushions, and tried for a more comfortable position. Then gave up and decided to just lay down all together. He thought that maybe a nap would do him some good. The conversation had already steered itself into waters he was uncomfortable navigating, and thought that a nap would be a good excuse for an evasion. "Hey, Charlie. Wake me up before you leave, would you? You'll probably need my input on your clothing before the date. You don't want Amita running away in fright from the tweed coat I'm sure you've already pulled out of your closet for the date tonight."

Charlie gave a small huff of laughter at the dig his brother got in on his wardrobe. "You're just too funny, Don. I'm not that bad at dressing, at least not for dates. Besides, Amita hasn't minded how I've dressed before." Charlie paused and wondered again if he and Amita could have a relationship if numbers was all they really shared in common. As much as they both loved them, was their passion for numbers enough to sustain a full-time, permanent relationship. Charlie had his doubts. The last time they had tried to go on a date, they'd agreed not to discuss anything related to their work, either at the University or with the FBI and the date had completely bombed. He didn't want to dwell on past mistakes and turned his attention back to the current conversation. "And anyway, what's wrong with my tweed coat? It's a classic."

Don thought about it. He tried to imagine Amita being turned on by the thought of that tweed coat, especially if she hadn't minded how his brother had dressed before. And then wondered again why he cared so much about what Amita wanted, and instead focused on his own wants. _He _wanted to be the one to clutch at that tweed coat and rip it off his brother's arms and back. He just realized how much he really hated that coat, and what better way to get rid of it than in a moment of passion. Not that he'd share that particular vision with his brother; instead, Don would continue to let Charlie wear it as more of a lust repellent. He really needed to stop having lustful thoughts about his brother. He yawned and stretched, trying to get comfortable on the family couch. "You're right," he admitted. "That tweed coat is so classic I'm surprised it doesn't smell like moth balls." He yawned again and hunkered down for a well-deserved nap.

* * *

Charlie looked through his closet again, and sighed. He hated that Don had placed a seed of doubt into his brain about what he should wear. He had never been concerned about his appearance before and now he was. He wanted to curse at Don loudly and long. "Why am I trying to please Don? I should be thinking about pleasing Amita," he spoke to the open closet before him in a soft voice. He decided to dress as casual and as comfortable as possible. Amita had picked out a small, intimate restaurant that wasn't expensive or pretentious, so he found his most comfortable jeans that were worn and faded in just the right spots from the chest of drawers next to the closet; then slid them on as well as he could one armed. He cursed out loud at how cumbersome dressing could be when you had an arm pinned to your side with a sling. Then he started flipping through the hanging shirts in the closet. 

"No. No. God, definitely not that one." He tossed the one he out right rejected into the trash can by his bed. The negative responses to each shirt became more profuse and his frustration mounted. Until he came to the back of his closet and to his oldest shirts. He'd not worn them in years and he wasn't sure he could even fit into them any more. But one of them had been his favorite. Susan had often told him that the shirt had brought out the color of his eyes and set off his skin to perfection. He briefly stopped what he was doing, as he held the shirt in front of him and thought of his time with Susan. He missed her, and he sometimes thought of how he wished they'd not parted for separate sides of the world. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking about an old girlfriend just as he was about to go out with a new one.

"What the hell! Let's see if I can still wear it." He looked from the polo shirt back to his arm and sighed. He was definitely going to need help with getting it on. He thought about getting Don to help him, but figured he would let his brother continue to have his nap. He instead went in search of his dad.

* * *

Don was slowly coming to from his nap when he heard Charlie and his dad come back down the steps. Don carefully set himself up and was just blinking the last remnants of sleep away when he saw the vision that was Charlie before him. With sheer will and amazing self control, Don didn't let his jaw drop at the sight before him. Charlie was dressed in skin hugging jeans that were worn at the crotch and knees and were faded to a wonderful soft blue. Charlie's top was equally skin tight and showed more upper chest definition that he thought his brother ever had. Charlie was drop dead gorgeous and fuckable. Don felt his groin tighten at the sight of Charlie and he groaned. _God! Not now,_ Don's mind fervently whispered. 

"Are you in pain, Don?" Charlie spoke, his voice laced with concern. He rushed over to his brother's side and knelt on the floor next to him. Don certainly appeared to be in pain, if the grimace on his face was anything to go by. "Can I do anything for you?"

Charlie was close enough for Don to inhale the scent of his cologne, and it was all he could do to keep his hands from reaching out to touch Charlie's face. _Yes, you can do something for me... _Don swallowed and closed his eyes in shame at the thoughts he was having about his little brother. He gripped the blankets so tightly in his hands that his knuckles turned white, and stifled another groan. "Charlie, I'm..."

"That's it! You must be feeling worse than you let on before." Charlie looked from Don to his father, and then back at Don, before standing up and heading for the telephone. "I'm going to call Amita and reschedule our date so I can stay here and help Dad take care of you. I'm sure she'll understand..." Charlie's words faded as he walked away, and Don's mind reeled.

"NO!" Don shouted in a panic, halting Charlie in his tracks. "No, Charlie. I'm fine, really. My leg's just a little stiff and sore after the nap, that's all. Nothing a little pain med won't fix. Please don't cancel your date on my account." Don pleaded.

Charlie turned to face his brother, scrutinizing him carefully. He had been certain that Don was in extreme pain, and the expression on his face seemed to confirm his suspicions, but there was something else in the way Don _looked_ at him, in the way he had nearly _begged_ Charlie not to cancel. It was almost like he didn't want Charlie around -- or maybe he did. He thought back to his brother's confession and wondered...But no, that certainly couldn't be it. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his conflicting thoughts. "Are you sure, Don? I really don't mind staying home if you need me."

_Oh, Charlie, if you only knew how much I do need you. _Don forced a calm expression onto his face; it was possibly the most difficult thing he had ever had to do. "I'm sure, Charlie. Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You go enjoy your date with Amita. When will she be picking you up again?" He had to get one more nudge in, that Amita would be there soon. He hoped.

Charlie sighed. Something was clearly bothering Don, and it made Charlie feel sick to his stomach that he might be upsetting his brother. But Don had been emphatic; Charlie was to go on his date and have a good time, so he pushed all thoughts of his brother from his mind. "In about fifteen minutes, but since she's almost always early, I'd say in about five."

"Well then, enjoy your dinner and the movie. What will you..." Don didn't get a chance to finish his question, for the doorbell rang. Apparently Charlie's estimate was off more than even he had thought. Charlie opened the door and he gaped for a moment when he saw how stylishly Amita was dressed. Then he cringed. He was under dressed for once and he wanted to kick himself.

"Amita, you look lovely. And here I am not dressed appropriately for the occasion. I'm sorry." Charlie thought briefly of going up to change, but the idea of taking the shirt off after removing the sling and redressing almost made him break out into a sweat. "If you want to wait a few minutes, I could run upstairs and change?"

Don watched Amita as she looked Charlie over, and he could hear the wolf whistles going off in her head just as clearly as they had gone off in his. "No, Charlie. You're dressed just fine. I had a meeting with the Dean of the Math department this afternoon to discuss my accepting a tenured position as a professor. It ran late and I didn't feel like I'd have time to go home and change and make it back here on time. If we leave now, we'll probably have to wait a bit at the restaurant. We might be able to get a seat in the bar, though if we go now."

Charlie nodded his head in agreement, and looked back at Don. "Oh, you were about to ask something just then. What did you want to know?"

"I hadn't quite caught the conversation you two were having last night when you were discussing your plans for this evening, so I was just curious about the movie you were planning on seeing. What is it? " Don had directed the question more at Amita than Charlie.

Amita smiled and bounced a little on her feet in excitement. "Fanaa. It's a Bollywood movie that's opening today. I've only heard tidbits about it from friends, so I'm not entirely sure what it is about."

The smile on Charlie's lips dimmed a bit. He hadn't been paying that much attention when Amita had been going on about their plans for the evening, and now that he knew about what movie they were seeing, he just hoped that the movie was either in English or decently subtitled. He didn't want to depend on Amita translating the entire dialogue for him. He really disliked foreign films. He had always hated English classes and movies that required deep thought. His mind just wasn't programmed for that kind of thing.

"Well don't let us keep you two. Amita, you do look lovely dear and I hope you have a good dinner and enjoy the movie," Alan ushered the couple out and then shut the door with a resounding click. Don sighed in relief.

"Are you alright, Don? Did you want me to get you some more water so you could take your pain medication?" Alan asked his son, as he moved to sit down in the chair Charlie had vacated hours ago.

"No, Pop. I'm okay, it was just mainly a muscle pulling tight," Don obfuscated. "So what's on the tube tonight? You staying in to keep me company?"

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** This chapter is very much A/U and no longer follows the regular Numb3rs season. This chapter is how I wanted to see things go between Amita and Charlie. Thanks goes to Separatrix for prodding me and helping me with ideas for the chapter. Also, she has helped beta read the chapter. You rock dear!

**  
Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 11**

Charlie didn't have a lot to say on the car ride to the restaurant at first, his mind absorbed with concern over leaving Don in pain. Even though Don had told him to go, a large part of him had wanted to stay and take care of his older brother. But as the miles passed by, he tried to refocus his attention on his date and with that in mind he recalled how Amita had said she had met with their department's Dean before coming to get him.

"How did your meeting with Millie go?"

Amita turned her head briefly to look at Charlie when he asked his question, then she turned her attention back to the road. "It went quite well. She said that if I stayed, that there was several boards and committees she thought I could join and have input on. I hadn't wanted to tell her I was willing to accept the position right away, so I gave the impression that I was still contemplating the position with Harvard. It could work to my advantage."

"That's great. I'm sure whatever committees she has her eye on will do wonders for your career and look great on your CV." Charlie shifted in his seat, trying to think of what else to ask or say. Then thought about the movie they were scheduled to see after their dinner. "So who recommended this movie we're going to see? Fanaa, I think you said it was."

"Oh, it was a from a friend of a cousin, who had worked on the set of the film. They had nothing but praise for the film, and since not much else is playing at the moment that I thought would interest either of us, it was literally the only choice. You don't mind seeing this film with me, do you?" She cast him a concerned look. He could see a frown forming on her face. It caused his stomach to tighten up with panic. They'd not even gotten to the restaurant yet and already things weren't going well on their date.

"No, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. I'll have you there to help me with any cultural difference I'm sure I'll not understand." He reached over and grasped Amita's hand and gave it a quick squeeze of reassurance. He thought for a moment that he should leave his hand over hers as a romantic gesture, but then decided that she'd probably need it free to drive and let it go. He settled back in his seat and watched the scenery pass by. He looked at the people lining the sidewalks with quick glances and calculated the rough estimated ratio of people who looked relatively young and dressed in cool summer wear to those who looked older and were dressed more conservatively. He liked doing random observations of people when he was outside of class. He felt it kept him in touch with the world, the physical here and now, in some manner.

The silence between Amita and himself wasn't strained, but it wasn't a totally comfortable one -- too much in the way of expectations and anticipations were hanging over their heads. A lot was riding on this date and Charlie felt the pressure keenly. If it went well, Amita would in all likelihood stay and if it didn't... Hello, Harvard. Of course, if it didn't, he'd be relieved if she left and took the sense of defeat and suspense with her. Not mind you, that he wanted to have this date fail. Of course, he didn't. Even with all the doubts he'd been having the last few days, he still wanted things to work well with the two of them. They'd been at the very least close friends the last two years.

Before he could churn up his doubts and make himself yet more tense, they finally arrived at the restaurant. He undid his seat belt one-handed, clumsily and exited the car as gracefully as he could with what the injury would allow him. They walked side-by-side into the crowded restaurant and he watched as Amita inquired about their reservation.

It wasn't too terribly difficult to discern what the hostess's words would be -- busy and they'd have to wait in the bar before their table became available. There were two stools at the end of the bar close to the eating area just made available as they walked in, and Amita rushed forward to secure them, while Charlie took a more leisurely and safe route to get there, avoiding any and all potential obstacles that might jar his arm. He reached her side maybe a minute later, and when he looked closely at her expression, he wondered what could have made such a beautiful woman show a face of such distaste; he followed her line of sight to see what had been the cause. What he saw caused his breath to leave his body.

Before him, seated at the table along the edge of the dining area, were two men who were truly absorbed in each other. In the first glance, he saw that they were holding hands and the hands lay to the side of the dinners. And with the second glance, he saw that they looked so much like Don and himself, it was almost uncanny in their resemblance. Charlie's heart raced as he watched the man who looked very much like himself, lean over, touch the side of the Don look-a-like's mouth and brush a speck of food away with the softest touch and then to see a tongue peek out and touch the tip of the the thumb as if to grab a taste of the helpful appendage. His breath caught again at the simple, but erotic gesture. For a second he actually envisioned that it was Don and himself at the table, if... If only they weren't... His cock stirred at the sight of these two men in a loving relationship and his panic decided to kick in at the traitorous messages his brain was receiving from his body. His mind blanked then as he tried to deny what he was feeling. There _were no ifs_ in this situation. They _were brothers _and nothing else would change that.

He blinked and swiftly brought his focus back to Amita, who was still looking at the two men with disgust. He reached out to touch her arm, and draw her attention away from the gay couple. "Amita. Amita." He repeated her name again with a stronger voice, which finally made her look away.

"Can you believe some people?" she asked in a strident voice, the volume of it pitched just slightly higher than Charlie was comfortable with. Charlie looked around, to check and see that they weren't making a spectacle of themselves.

Charlie leaned in a bit closer, and in a voice lowered just for her ears alone said, "Amita, please. Don't make a scene. Okay?"

"Oh, and what they're doing isn't making a scene as well?"

Charlie couldn't believe her response and he had to argue with her reasonings, "How is it any different from a traditional couple? One who holds hands and shows their love for one another by using gestures of affection. Do you think _that's_ distasteful?"

He saw her flinch as if she had been struck. "I just... I was raised in a traditional Hindu household, Charlie." As if that answer said it all. Part of it did to be sure, but he looked at her and thought how hypocritical she was being. She herself had chosen to not follow tradition and was willing to date him, and yet it was okay to just pick and choose what's right and wrong from her upbringing to suit her own needs. But he bit his tongue and held his thoughts for the moment, but he would make sure to revisit them sometime in the near future. She could hide behind tradition all she wanted, but he saw it for what it truly was.

"We're here to have dinner, and they looked like they would be done soon. Let's just order something to drink, and try to relax and talk about something... like the case. Alright?"

He watched for a moment to see the indecision written on Amita's face. Then the tension eased from her body and she turned her back to the dining area and faced the bar. "Fine. Can you have something alcoholic while you are taking your medication?"

"No, doctor's orders. Poor Don, he was craving a beer last night and had to stick with water or a soda instead. I want something with a bit more taste than water, so I'll just have an iced tea with lemon, if you'd be so kind when you order."

The minute Amita's attention was captured with the bartender, Charlie briefly flicked his glance back at the couple and his heart clenched at the scene he saw. The two men had such an intense look of love to their faces, and their whole attitudes were such that their world consisted of the two of them alone-- everything else had faded into the background.

* * *

Looking back, Charlie had decided that the entire date was a failure from start to finish. It hadn't helped that when they were actually called to be seated, they were led to the very table the two men had been at. This caused Amita to ask for another table, but the waitress firmly said they were booked solid and that no other tables would be available for a while. Amita looked as if she might just turn away and leave, but Charlie grasped her arm and told her to sit. 

"You're taking your _traditions_, Amita, just a bit too far. Give it a rest and let it go. Ignore who was here before us and focus on us. We're here together for a date, just like _you wanted."_

Amita, totally absorbed in herself and her righteous indignation, totally missed the inflection Charlie had placed on the last few words of his statement. He watched as she took a deep breath and tried to relax once more. Charlie tried to participate in the conversation after that, but every so often, his mind would slip back to the two men who had been sitting here and to looking at Amita with a very analytical eye. He hadn't had any idea that she was homophobic, but then again they hadn't come into contact with many gay couples in their last two years of working together, if any. That led to thinking about Don. Don had admitted that he was now bisexual after a lifetime of having thought himself solely as hetero. What would Amita say if she knew that Don now had homosexual leanings? He shuddered to think of the possible repercussions, especially if he couldn't get her to see how her prejudices were detrimental to her being a teacher.

Amita tried to carry the date as much as possible. But by the time dinner was over, Charlie could see she was about to throw up her hands in defeat. "Charlie, what is the matter with you? You've not been here all evening, it's like your mind is a million miles away."

Charlie sighed and debated with himself about telling her at least a part of what had been bothering him the last few days. He realized that he needed to be honest with her to a point if he was to salvage anything from this evening and their friendship. "You were right last week, when I had pushed you about us getting together -- having you stay or the possibility of my going with you to Harvard. You had said that it wasn't about you, and that it was about me. And that your leaving to go to Harvard had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with your goals and ambitions.

"The thought of you going away... It made you slightly unattainable and therefore more desirable, which as you know means that I wanted to make you mine. It wasn't logical to think like that and over the weekend my doubts sprang up. So when you came to me and said you wanted to try again, that you'd changed your mind, I was hesitant. And that made me feel like a first class heel. So I thought I'd give us both a fair chance and I just..." Here the words ran out for Charlie. They would only lead to the topic of homophobia and how Amita had to learn to cope better if she wanted to get far in her role as a professor, and that really wasn't something he wanted to get into right now.

The look on her face at that moment was resigned. "You realized that it wasn't going to work after all." She sighed and then reached across the table and squeezed his good hand in reassurance. "I'm glad you were honest with me, Charlie. As much as it pains me to hear it, I had hoped that things would be okay for us. I do care for you and I am certain I could love you, but I think ... with what you've just said, that we'll be better off as just friends and colleagues."

Charlie turned his hand over and clasped her hand before she could remove it. "Does that mean you'll still be staying and not going away to Harvard?"

Amita nodded and smiled. "Millie did present an awfully appealing job package if I were to stay. The perk, of course, is that I'd be able to continue to work with many wonderful minds in the mathematics field, and be able to call those talented people my friends. Besides, where else would I get the challenge of helping the FBI solve difficult and puzzling cases?"

For a brief second, the thought of having her working with him and Don to help the FBI left him unsettled. He knew that he wasn't being logical on this, because Don would probably never come out to his friends and family. And if he did, he would never tell them the reason behind the change in his sexual orientation. He let his fears go for the moment. "That's terrific, Amita. I'm so glad you're staying. I've always enjoyed working with you and I hadn't really wanted to see that stop. I just... I feel bad that I've led you on these last few days."

"Charlie, stop it. You made an honest effort to make us work, and I'm glad you were able to come forward now before things between us went too far. We're good, okay. Don't worry about things."

They both sat in silence for a bit and for the first time that evening, it was actually quite comfortable. The air had been somewhat cleared and there was no longer any sense of anticipation hanging over them.

"So did you still want to go see that movie?" she asked.

The look on Charlie's face was comical and honest and Amita laughed. Before, he was being polite to his date when he had said he was fine with it, when he honestly hadn't been. But now that they were back to being friends, Charlie could let was he was really thinking show.

"I'll take that as a no. How about I drop you back at home, and I go to the movie at a later time with some other friends?"

Charlie was happy and ambivalent about returning home so soon. Happy that he'd get the chance to spend the remainder of the evening with Don, yet he didn't look forward to discussing the reason the date had terminated so early. Should he tell Don, warn him about Amita's homophobia? Would it even be an issue to Don. Don had said he had no desire to act on his new found sexuality.

Don... Don... Thoughts of Don had totally taken over Charlie's mind and he tried to replace them with something else, but what flashed through was the scene again of the two men that looked so much like the two brothers. Charlie had initially blanked out the reaction of what the image of the two men had done for him physically, but he couldn't ignore it anymore. The thought of him and Don together, it aroused him. And hard on the heels of that thought came the stark realization that he was well and truly sexually attracted to Don.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks goes once more to Separatrix for her help in beta reading this chapter and for offering suggestions. Any errors remaining to the chapter are my own. Also thanks go to those who have reviewed this story. Your reviews help spur me on to make this story exciting and makes me feel my efforts are worth the time I have put into it.

**  
Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 12**

The sun was still hours away from setting when Charlie unlocked the front door of his home and walked into the entryway. Charlie had briefly contemplated going to the garage and working out the math that was circling around in his head, but he'd been told by the doctor to not stress himself with work and add to the fact that he couldn't write left handed and his right was still bound in a sling. He could hear the sounds of a baseball game blaring from the television. That could mean only one thing. Don was still up and that caused Charlie a moment of panic. As much as he had wanted to spend the evening taking care of Don and talking with him, now that he'd come to realize that he was also attracted to his brother, he couldn't face the man. For a brief second he considered just going out to the garage and sleeping on the old couch that was out there, but knew once again his arm would have hindered that idea. He turned to close the door as quietly as possible, but the squeak of his shoe against the wood floor alerted the occupants in the other room to his presence. _Damn it, I knew I should have gone to the garage or at the very least come in through the back door._

"Charlie, is that you?" his father called out over the crack of a bat, which was quickly muted as someone turned the sound down on the television. Charlie slowly stepped out from behind the pillars and coats blocking his line of sight into the living room.

"I would hope it wouldn't be anyone else, Dad. Otherwise, Don is falling asleep on the job." Charlie figured the best defense in this situation would be a good offense, something he's learned over time in dealing with Don.

"Har de har har, Chuckles! So what brings you home so early? Things with Amita not go well?" Don asked as he swung his leg off the ottoman and onto the couch so that he could face Charlie and not focus in on the game.

Charlie gave a sickly smile in response to the questions and figured Don would smell his fear and frustration if he didn't give them a bone. "I found that I was just distracted all through dinner and I guess she realized what a poor date I was being. Honestly, I think it's because I forgot to take another pain pill before I left, which made it difficult for me to focus on her with the pain gnawing away at the edges of my concentration. Anyway, we decided to cancel the rest of the evening and I'd come home, take my medication and call it a night.

"So don't let me keep you from watching the game and reading the paper. Good night, Dad. Night, Don."

Don watched as Charlie rushed upstairs as if the hounds of hell were after him and Don knew something else was going on. The reason he knew was because Charlie hadn't even thought to ask him how he was doing and how his evening went. Charlie was nothing if not caring and thoughtful when it came to his older brother, no matter how much Don always ragged on him and teased him. But maybe he was just being paranoid. He had missed talking to Charlie that evening, and Charlie could plainly see that Don was doing just fine as he had been sitting up watching a baseball game. God, the jealousy had been eating him alive and not even the game could take his full attention away from the thoughts that had been running rampant through them since having seen Charlie just before going on his date.

_Not even that damn sling could detract from how good Charlie looked in those painted on jeans and tight shirt. _ Don left the volume turned down on the television and listened instead to the slight creaking of the floor boards from above as Charlie moved around in his bedroom and the rustling of the pages of the newspaper his father was reading. Don couldn't help thinking that sometimes their father was clairvoyant and other times the man was denser than mud when something was bothering one of his sons, but those times were very rare. Tonight was apparently was one of those very rare occasions, as his nose hadn't really budged from the paper from the moment Charlie had walked through the door.

Now of course, Don wished his dad would just get up and go to bed or go out and have a date. Then an idea of how to get his father out of the living room so he could sulk in private came to him. "Pop, since Charlie decided he's going to turn in early, he's probably going to need help changing what with the sling and all. Maybe you should go up and help him?"

The paper rattled, then lowered. "Oh, right. Yes. Poor Charlie, his wardrobe just isn't built for having a shoulder wound." Don chuckled at the look on his dad's face. He could totally relate. The words Charlie and shoulder wound really did not go hand-in-hand. "I don't think I ever thanked David, Megan _or you_ for making sure nothing more serious happened than what did that day. Just thinking about the possibility of you both not walking away from that situation, it scares me sometimes. You're both grown men, but the world out there doesn't care that you two are my boys and that I want the best for you." Alan gave a huge sigh as if all the weight of the world was upon his shoulders. And Don thought maybe it was, at least the world that belonged to Alan Eppes.

"You know I would do anything to keep Charlie safe. So would Megan, David and Colby. So no thanks are really necessary, because I'm sure they know. Dad, it's been a long week for all of us, maybe we should all try and get a good night's rest tonight. Go up and help Charlie and go to bed. You've been running yourself ragged trying to help both of us."

Don reached over and turned off the television with the remote and watched as his father carefully closed up the paper and set it aside. "Do you need anything before I head up? Some more water, something to eat?"

Don shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Night, Pop. Sleep well."

Alan walked over and carefully squeezed Don's shoulders. "Sleep well, Don."

* * *

Charlie had been glad that his dad had thought to come up and help him prepare for bed that night. Being one armed was damned inconvenient when the other arm was sore and stiff. He looked forward to when he could lose the sling. 

Once he was alone again, Charlie started up his laptop and sat down to plan out how best to make his escape from being around Don, at least until he got his bearings straight and his emotions under control. If Don could do it, so could he.

"So, let's see about getting the next flight out to Vegas for tomorrow morning." He clicked the buttons of the trackpad as he launched a browser.

* * *

Don knew that something was completely and utterly wrong when Charlie came down the next morning with a gym bag in his good hand and a book bag over his shoulder. "Charlie, where are you going?" 

Don straightened himself up on the couch, his body tension ratcheted up a notch. Charlie's fingers flexed and clenched the straps of the bag, and he licked his lips. Don took in all these signs of nervousness and it caused a ripple of panic to skitter down his spine. He knew that whatever was going on was linked to last nights behavior. Had Charlie finally had it sink in just how wrong Don's feelings were and was trying to escape? To put distance between them because Charlie was now disgusted and couldn't bear to stay in the same house? These questions raced through Don's mind as he waited for his question to be answered. He knew that if he pushed too hard, Charlie would flee. But then again, Charlie looked like he was planning to flee anyway.

"Charlie, are you going on vacation without me?" Don asked the question as nonchalantly as possible, trying to give the impression of joviality and ease. The smile that he tried on his face fell short of the mark, however.

"I... Things didn't go as planned last night with Amita and me. I... Something happened at dinner. And so, yes. I'm going to Vegas. I have to think. I can't... can't tell you more than that." Charlie was about to say more, when the honk of a car horn was heard. Charlie turned his head to the door, an expression of desperation on his face and his entire body straining to leave. "Look, the taxi is here. I'll call. Tell Dad will you, so he doesn't worry. I'll be fine." He rushed all the words together as he made for the door.

Don tried to push himself up off the couch, hoping to somehow get to Charlie before he could leave. The crutches that were propped at the end of the couch fell to the floor with a clatter, startling both Charlie and Don, but it didn't seem to slow Charlie down in his haste. The honking from the taxi seemed to spur him on even faster.

"Damn it, Charlie. Wait!" Don yelled out to his brother, but the door was shut with a bang before the last directive could be uttered. Don fell back against the cushions. From nowhere, sadness, anxiety and this feeling of anguish filled him. _God, what will I do if Charlie can no longer bear to be around me._ As much as he himself had thought of avoiding his brother, to spare the other man his feelings, his love for Charlie wouldn't allow for that. Don thought over Charlie's words from just minutes before, _'something happened at dinner'_ ... _'things didn't go as planned'_ ... _'i have to think.' _Maybe he was being paranoid again. Maybe it had nothing to do with him at all. Maybe it had to do with Amita and their aborted date from last night. _If only I knew what had happened._

"Wait, wait... Amita knows." Don tried to get his emotions back under control and to be the trained investigative agent that he was. If he couldn't get his answers from Charlie, he'd get them from the next best source. Don reached for the cordless phone that had been left on the coffee table near to the couch. He was glad Charlie had programmed the phone with Amita's home phone number, which was odd for a mathematician who had memorized the first two hundred digits of Pi backwards and forwards and yet still had a horrible time remembering simple seven digit phone numbers. As he was scrolling through the phonebook stored on the cordless, the clatter of footsteps coming down the steps halted him.

"Don, what was that racket all about? I heard a horn honking and then the front door slamming."

Don debated on telling his father that his youngest son had just run away from home. As he was about to speak, there was a knock at the door. To keep his hands busy, Don reached for the crutches where they had landed on the floor one handed, the other still held the phone. Don looked at it, and debated calling Amita now or wait until he was alone. The choice was taken away from him when David was ushered into the room by Alan. Don wondered if work had finally come to call. Or better yet, maybe he could get David to track down which flight Charlie was booked on and maybe have airport security detain him so that Don could go after his brother and talk some sense into him, whatever the situation may be.

"Hey Don. Sorry to interrupt your weekend and time off, man. It seems the labs have come up with a problem."

Don waved David to a seat, while he spoke, "What kind of problem? Was something not right with the take down on Tuesday?"

"Oh no, nothing about that. The labs must have gotten your samples mixed up or had them contaminated or something. They said they ran the samples you and Charlie gave them for comparison and they thought maybe I had been the one to make the mistake."

"A mistake? I doubt it highly, David. You're one of the most conscientious agents I know. Why did they assume it was you that made the mistake and why do you think it was them that goofed?

"Because the samples were nothing alike. The lab techs know you and Charlie are brothers, but your DNA samples weren't even close to matching. Something about not having enough alleles in common. I know _I_ didn't get them mixed up, because I took them straight from the hospital to the labs, so they must have. I figured I would straighten the whole situation out by just getting your samples again.

"So is Charlie here? I can get both of them now, so that they can run fresh tests once more." David looked around, expecting the math professor to pop up around the corner or from the kitchen at any moment.

"Ah, well no. You just missed him in fact. He ah.. decided to leave for his vacation to Vegas a bit earlier than planned. He said something about being here made him want to do some work, and that he had to get away to avoid temptation." Don lied through his teeth, hoping to cover over the fact that everyone knew Don and Charlie had been planning to go on vacation together and that those plans had now been changed.

"Why don't you just take my sample and when Charlie comes back, you can get his. Or maybe Charlie left his hair brush." Don turned to his dad and it was then that Don noticed how pale Alan looked. "Pop, are you okay?"

Both agents were now looking at Alan Eppes with concern. David rushed out of his seat, and offered it to the older gentleman. "Here, Mr. Eppes. Please take a seat. Can I get you some water?"

Alan looked world weary once again. The time had come for the truth he'd been avoiding for over thirty years.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Thanks go to Separatrix for beta reading this chapter. Any errors remaining are my own. See other A/N at the bottom for possible spoilers to this chapter.

**  
Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 13**

"So, which terminal at the airport are we going to?" the driver asked as he looked back at Charlie from his rear view mirror.

For several seconds, Charlie didn't even register the question being asked of him. So lost in the thought of his running away from Don and Don's questions. He hated himself that he wasn't brave enough to face the conflicting emotions head on and discussing them with his brother, but he just couldn't. It was only when the cabbie asked the question again and snapped his fingers in the vicinity of Charlie's face did Charlie come back into focus. "I'm going out on US Airways, locally. And you don't have to rush, I've got 2 hours before my flight leaves. So make sure we have a safe drive, please."

"Will do then. You want a scenic route to get to the airport?"

"No, I don't care which path you take as long as it's not any longer than the usual direct route you normally would."

Charlie lost himself into his thoughts after that. All he saw before him were the two men from the restaurant, and the love they had shared and not the homes and streets of Los Angeles. The words running through his mind was the silent mantra he chanted to himself, _'I want what they have, but it's wrong to want it with Don._'

_Why was life so difficult and what were the chances that two brothers would fall in... want one another._ Charlie couldn't say the word love to himself. Love had so many different connotations. He loved Don, he'd always loved Don, even when his brother was being a schmuck and was giving Charlie a hard time about being a young, gifted mathematician. It wasn't so much like that these days, but growing up, Charlie had been aware of the jealousy and bitter feelings Don had had towards him. He hadn't been totally blind and absorbed with his studies. But this love -- this lustful, needy love -- was something entirely else. Foreign, and yet not. He'd been in love before, but with women like Susan. Never with a man. Never. So, he couldn't be _in love_ with Don. He shouldn't even be attracted to him.

Charlie shook his head to clear it of all thoughts of Don. He was on his way to Vegas and he would gamble and have fun. All thoughts of Don would stay hidden and buried, and if he was aware of his denial, he thought nothing of it. Denial was the only proper thing to have.

* * *

Alan swallowed the water down that David had gotten him as if the sudden weight of the truth he'd avoided telling all these years had driven every ounce of moisture from his body. He slowly lowered the glass down and looked from his son to his son's co-worker and friend. 

"Boys have a seat, because I have a story to tell that I've been carrying around for thirty some odds years. I wish Charlie were here to hear this story as well, but it's best I tell it now while I have the courage and the strength to do so." Alan watched as Don settled himself back down onto the couch, placing his leg up on the ottoman and David sat down in the chair kitty corner to the couch. The intent and questioning look on David's face and the weary and forbidding one on Don's was almost enough to make Alan wish he could swallow his tongue and keep the story forever hidden from the spoken word. Alan gave a heavy sigh.

"The DNA tests weren't in error David." Alan was going to say more, but Don interrupted him with a sharp exclamation of surprise.

"Pop! What?!"

"Donnie, please. Just be quiet for a few minutes and let me get the entire story out. All right?" Alan asked his eldest son.

Don's face showed bewilderment and sadness, with a mixture of disbelief and hurt. Alan hoped that the family would survive with the telling of the tale.

"I think I should start at the very beginning, before you ever came into the picture Don.

"I had a cousin by the name of Michael who lived down south close to the border, where he'd lived with my Uncle Hiram and Aunt Judy. We weren't very close, and were the only children of the Eppes family in our generation. Michael, as far as I know, had lost touch with his parents and the rest of the family for a few years. Until one day I'd gotten a letter from Aunt Judy saying that Michael had gotten married and his wife and their son, Donald would be coming home to California to settle down. Apparently Michael's new wife, Danielle, didn't have any family of her own and wanted to have a chance of one through Michael's."

Alan saw Don give a start when he mentioned the name of his cousin's child and he could tell that Don was putting the pieces together in his head. His son didn't say anything however, and Alan continued on with his story.

"Margaret and I made the trip down to meet Michael and Danielle and their son, Don." Alan smiled in fond remembrance to that day so long ago.

"Don, you were the happiest toddler I could ever remember meeting. So energetic and giggly. Bouncing up and down and holding on to Danielle's hands as she helped you walk along in the grass. You stole a bit of our heart that day and so we stayed in touch with Michael and Danielle through pictures they'd send of you via letters. Then about four months later, after our first meeting, tragedy struck. Michael, Danielle, Aunt Judy and Uncle Hiram had decided to go out for the evening, while you were being looked after by a young woman in the neighborhood. They never made it home because of a drunk driver. Sounds so cliché doesn't it. You hear about it all the time, and never think it could ever really happen to your family. Margaret and I were called, after my parents had been contacted. Margaret and I took you in and made your ours, Don, since you were two years old. So you are family Don, but you and Charlie are not brothers, except at heart."

Alan waited at the end, expecting the blow up he was sure would come. Thirty-six years of silence and hiding of the truth would certainly lead to a lot of heartache and feelings of distrust.

"Wait a minute. Back up. How is that possible? I've seen my birth certificate, it states that you and Mom are my parents, not Michael and Danielle Eppes."

"When Margaret and I took possession of their home and guardianship of you, we looked high and low for a birth certificate, but we couldn't find any documentation to do with your birth. The courts, when they gave you to us when the adoption was finalized, re-issued a birth certificate for identification purposes with our names on it. Your adoption papers along with everything we have from your birth parents are up in the attic."

Don was stunned into silence. The entire truth of his existence as he knew it had been a lie. The knowledge of who defined his family was erroneous and he wasn't sure how to even handle that information. It was like he was on overload. He looked from his 'father' to his co-worker and the stunned look on David's face was in some way reassuring. Don hadn't been hallucinating and the truth was just as hard to take in for David as it was for him.

* * *

Charlie didn't want to spend the entire cab ride to the airport just sitting and doing nothing so he rummaged through his book bag and pulled out a fresh tablet of yellow lined paper and a black ballpoint pen. The ride would be just long enough that he could spend some serious time doing a calculation that he'd been thinking on since the disastrous date of last night. He held the pad of paper close to his body and gripped the pen in his right hand. It was the only comfortable way he could write, without having to resort to using his left hand. He could mark and correct well enough with his left, but for any serious work, he thought and worked best with his right. 

With the few variables he had to go on and the rough estimations he had stored in his head on the population of the U.S. and the world at large, he'd started calculating the percentages of incest in all its myriad possibilities from those pertaining to siblings and those of parent and child that were likely to occur in this day and age. It wasn't an exact equation, but any number was better than none. He just needed to know that perhaps it wasn't as rare as he thought, or maybe he needed to know that the love he did have was very rare indeed.

* * *

"I think perhaps I should take my leave, Don. Let you and your dad discuss this without my being in the way." David got up and reached out and squeezed Don's shoulder in support and sympathy. He did the same for Alan as he walked by the older man. 

"Thanks, David. I appreciate your staying and listening. Tell the labs that no further tests need to be run. If they question you, just have them call me here." Don looked up and his gaze skated right over his father and fell straight onto David as he spoke.

"Sure thing. I really am sorry that something so... mundane... would have opened such a large can of worms. Take care man. You too Mr. Eppes." With that, David left.

Both men who remained sat in silence. Alan looked at the man he'd called son for more than thirty years, and hoped that he'd be allowed to do so for many, many more. "Don... I know we should have told you years ago, soon as you and Charlie were in high school together and you were old enough to handle the knowledge, but things between you and Charlie were already so strained, I didn't want the knowledge that you weren't actually brothers to destroy what little relationship you did have. Or maybe, maybe, now that I think on it, if you had known, maybe you would have been more forgiving of Charlie."

Don looked up then and looked straight into Alan's eyes. The pain and misery there was great. "Did you ever stop to think that if I _had _known, I wouldn't have been as jealous of the time you spent with Charlie, because Charlie was your biological son and that I wasn't? That it might have lessened the feeling of abandonment I suffered for years as you and Mom gave him so much of your time and attention to him."

"Don, you are our son in all ways but by blood, and even then, you still are family. Margaret and I loved you from the moment we saw you. It might not have been the love of a parent, but you were precious to us. And when the accident happened, we didn't hesitate one moment to claim you for our own. Donnie, we loved you then, and if your mother were here now she would say as I would, that we love you now. _You are our son._ Trust us in knowing, that even with the mistakes we made as you grew up and we let our focus reside on Charlie more than you, it would have happened whether you were born to us or not, because Charlie needed the attention. Even now, he needs attention. You've seen how he gets.

"I just hope this doesn't affect how you deal with Charlie. You will still treat him like your brother, won't you? He shouldn't be the one to suffer for your mother's and my hesitance in sharing your birth information with you."

Don sat there stunned once more. The thought that he wasn't in love with his brother after all struck him as if hit by a brick. He was in love with a distant cousin, not his brother. _Not my brother! I'm in love and he's not my brother! But we're still family, it's still not right._ Perhaps he could let his...his father know what was happening. Maybe having someone know outside of the two younger men would help.

"Dad, there's something you should know."

TBC

A/N: I had no clue of any other family members within the Eppes tree, and if there has been mention of Aunts or Uncles in the episodes I can't recall, so I've made up my own Eppes family beyond that of Alan, Margaret, Don and Charlie.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks go to the ever wonderful Separatrix for her reading through and critiquing my work. Of course, any errors that are remaining are my own.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 14**

Charlie checked in to the Renaissance Hotel at just after two in the afternoon. He took the key card the clerk passed to him with a smile and then she wished him a wonderful stay. He tried to look as happy to be there in return since being on vacation in Las Vegas should be an exciting time, but he was tired and achy as he hadn't slept well at all last night and the plane ride had been cramped and loud. He hadn't even been able to focus on a single math problem.

He trudged into the elevator and pressed the key for the fifth floor. Five was a good number, a Fermat prime, a Fibonacci number and the first Wilson prime. The number itself occurs often in nature--five oceans, the five senses and so on. So he was happy with his destination and when he used the key card to enter his room, he was surprised at how comfortable it looked; it was decorated in a retro 60's style in greens, oranges and dark wood tones.

He threw his bags down onto the far right of the bed and gently lowered himself down being careful of his bandaged shoulder, toed his shoes off and laid down without bothering to pull back the covers. He shut his brain off for once and let sleep claim him even though it was still early afternoon.

* * *

Alan had left the house, in stunned shock at the words that had come pouring out of Don's mouth. So stunned in fact, the words had driven him to his old favorite bar about five miles from the house. He'd visited it many a night after work before heading home to his sick wife, who had been bed-ridden with terminal cancer, just over two years ago. After sitting in silence and drinking a few beers, he'd headed back to his home with so many questions and a lot of guilt and anger roiling around inside of him. 

The minute he'd walked into the door and saw Don sitting almost in the exact spot in which he'd left him over two hours ago, he let loose with the one question that had been sitting on his mind, "What do you mean, you're in love with Charlie? He's your brother..."

Don cut his father off in mid-sentence, "According to you _he's not my brother_, not genetically. We're distant cousins, and learning that made me so much more relieved than I can ever tell you. That's why I told you how I feel about Charlie. One minute I'm looking at my brother with exasperated affection and the next minute I'm looking into his eyes and falling headlong into love. I'd been questioning my feelings for weeks prior to that moment last Saturday and since then, it's been a constant struggle to keep everything under wraps. Charlie figured it out on Sunday, and he's been really decent about it. Not judging me, accepting that I have feelings for him, even though he knows they're wrong. But you have no idea how disgusted with myself I've been. I know we're still relatives and it's still morally and legally wrong, but in my head there are degrees to this situation; one sibling _loving _another is just second to a parent _loving _their child in being truly horrific. One cousin loving another isn't so bad. Still bad, but just not as morally reprehensible."

"If you know this, then why tell me? What did you hope to gain by my knowing?" Alan asked.

"Because... I think Charlie left this morning because my feelings for him finally sank in. That he's disgusted with me as I have been with myself and that drove him away. He can't stand to be in the same house with me." Don ran his hands through his hair in frustration and sadness. "I need to find him and let him know what you told me. Maybe... Maybe then he won't be so upset with me and he'll come home or at the very least, let me stay and enjoy Vegas with him liked we'd planned."

Alan sat down next to Don and put his arm around his son. "Don, I don't think Charlie left here because of your feelings for him. I'm sure he's given this full thought and if he's told you he's okay with things, then he is. Charlie is as stubborn as the rest of the Eppes' men," here Alan squeezed Don gently and with love at his teasing. "So Charlie's not likely to change his mind once he's made it up. All right?"

"Yeah, I know. I keep telling myself not to be so paranoid. The only other thing I can think of that might have made Charlie upset enough to leave is that something went wrong on his date with Amita. I mean he did say something in passing on his way out that things hadn't gone well, but he wasn't specific as to what. I was thinking that I should call her, but I honestly don't know how to ask without coming across as a nosy, interfering ass."

Alan snorted at Don. "This behavior isn't like you at all, Don. What's with this self pity? For heaven's sake, you work for the FBI. You know how to question people.

"Honestly, just tell her you're concerned about Charlie, that he came home in a strange mood last night and then ask her if she knew what caused it. It's as easy and as simple as that." Alan reached over and picked up the cordless phone and handed it to Don. "Call her. Find out why Charlie ran out of here like something spooked him."

"Thanks, Pop." Don looked at the phone and back at Alan. "Beyond the issue of why Charlie ran, do you think I should wait until Charlie gets back to let you tell him the news about my real relationship with him, or should I follow him and break the news to him in person?"

Alan straightened and started fidgeting with the paper sitting on the coffee table. "The news affects your relationship with him, apparently now on more than one level than his with me. So perhaps you should tell. How and when, is your call."

Don snorted. "You just don't want to have to tell the story a second time. After I call Amita and find out if she knows anything, I'll go up and search Charlie's room for his itinerary and location."

Alan stood as he spoke, "Actually, let me do that so you can avoid the stairs."

Don nodded his agreement and thanks.

Once he heard the last step being taken up the stairs and the opening of Charlie's bedroom door, Don cycled through the phones memory list and selected Amita's cell phone number, then pushed the talk button.

Don heard the click of the phone being answered and before he could say 'hello' he heard Amita speak. "Hey, Charlie."

"Um, it's Don actually. Hey, Amita."

Don could hear the hesitation and unasked question of '_why are you calling me_' in Amita's voice when she responded, "Oh, hi Don. What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Well, the reason I'm calling is because of Charlie. He came home last night kind of distracted and then before I know it, he's left this morning for Las Vegas without me. He didn't say why and I just wanted to know if something was wrong with Charlie while you and he were on your date, or if something during the date outside the two of you might have upset him?" Don tried to make his voice as amenable and pleasant as possible, so that she wouldn't take any offense in his directly asking how their date went and not imply that she'd screwed his bro... cousin over. "I'm just really worried about him, Amita."

Over the phone, Don could hear a long drawn out sigh and wondered what would cause that reaction. "As I'm sure you'll know sooner or later, Charlie realized last night that it wouldn't work out between the two of us after all. He'd been distracted all evening in fact, and I had called him on it. Plus, we'd had a minor disagreement over this gay couple that had been in the restaurant. They were holding hands in public and being openly _affectionate_." Don could hear the disgust in her voice and he cringed. He just knew that she wouldn't take well to knowing about Don's own change in persuasion, if she were ever to be told. And that it would probably change the dynamics of her working relationship with Charlie and him in dealing with FBI matters. _Well that's definitely something that would upset Charlie no end; to have things possibly strained between me and his co-worker slash friend. But not really a reason to take off without a good explanation. _

"Hmm, okay. Honestly, not to be rude, but that doesn't sound like it would be enough of a reason to leave for Vegas early. So nothing else comes to mind?"

"I'm sorry, Don. Charlie seemed to be in relatively good mood, though still distracted on the way back to your place. I can't tell you any more than that." Amita, at that point, sounded distracted and Don knew that her mind had moved on to other things. He made agreeable noises, thanked her and hung up.

Don put the phone back on the coffee table and twisted his body around to stare at the staircase leading upwards. He wondered what his dad had found, if anything, and what was taking so long in trying to find it. He was about to yell out and ask what was happening, when the squeak of weight landing on the first stair sounded.

"He's staying at the Renaissance Hotel. There's a phone number here, did you want to try calling through and asking for his room?" Alan handed over the print out Charlie had left on his desk buried under a mathematics journal.

Don looked at the sheet of paper and saw that Charlie had reserved a room for a week and would be back the following Saturday. He didn't want to have such a delicate conversation over the phone, and waiting a week in agony to find out why Charlie had left in such a hurry without him would just drive him slowly insane. "I think I'll book a flight out first thing for tomorrow and a room at the same hotel. We should really talk face to face and I don't think I could wait a week until he's back home."

Alan looked at him with concern, "Are you sure you should attempt a trip on a cramped flight with your leg not fully healed?"

Don hesitated as he held the phone. He wavered for a split second, concerned about being on an airplane for fifty minutes and thought he might be able to handle it as long as he took his pain medication. He wasn't totally sure the pain and misery the flight would cause him would be worth it overall, but he needed to confront Charlie so he'd put up with the discomfort if he had to. "Maybe I'll call a travel agent and specify my requirements of having a first class seat so I can have room to prop out my leg, and request a cart to pick me up and drop me off inside the terminal. That should work.

"Would you get me a phone book, Dad. I don't have a usual agent, so I need to find someone to deal with it all. Oh and my wallet as well, I'll probably need to give them my Visa number. It should be in my case sitting in the corner behind the chair."

He would have preferred doing everything online, but he had to request something extra above and beyond just booking a seat and room, so he would call an agent and would definitely make sure he'd be in Vegas by tomorrow evening at the latest. He also wasn't sure if maybe he should take his gun with him or not, it was Las Vegas, and well with Charlie, one could never tell what kind of trouble the younger man could get into. Yeah, with Charlie it was better to be safe than sorry. This past Tuesday definitely attested to that clichéd phrase.

* * *

Charlie woke from his nap feeling refreshed and carefree of the troubles that had driven him to Vegas. He would gamble, enjoy the food and shows, and perhaps along the way his heart, mind and body would come to some form of agreement on the situation with Don. He hoped by this time next week, he could return home free of the anxiety that had plagued him all night and into the morning. 

After he washed his face and tried to tame the riot of his curling hair, Charlie set out to find a good meal and he was in the mood for prime rib and a beer. He knew that the well known ENVY Steakhouse that the hotel boasted would definitely fit the bill, but hopefully not break his bank account before he had a chance to replenish his already diminished funds.

Once the act of eating was accomplished, and the smile on his face matched the one that the clerk at the desk had given him when he had checked in, he set out to see what the nearest gambling establishment held in the way of blackjack and poker. When he stopped by the front desk to ask, they directed him to the shuttle that would take him to the Wynn Resort and Casino; it was within easy walking distance and was free. Free was a price he could readily afford.

Once he arrived at the casino, and noticed that a good number of people were playing with what looked like red cards, Charlie set about finding the cashiers area and getting a line of credit and chips in which to play with.

As he passed the army of one-armed bandits, the ringing of a solitary slot machine nearby indicated someone had hit a jackpot, he slowed to watch the people who hadn't won look disgruntled and then pour more money into the machine they were occupying. He shook his head at their gullibility. Didn't they know the odds of winning on the machines were? Anyone who had any interest in playing a slot should definitely research the probability of hitting a jackpot. From what he could remember, each reel could have up to a possible number of two hundred starting at zero and that number was picked at random. Since most machines had three reels that meant three random numbers and the higher payout combinations would have fewer slots assigned out of the two hundred. Add in to the equation that probably close to half of the virtual numbers on each reel were blank. The spinning of the wheel was just for show and entertainment, the results were already determined the minute you pulled the arm. He did the math in his head and figured that the odds of winning would be something like one to two hundred and fifty thousand. Which meant he'd personally never touch one, and even if he weren't one armed himself at the moment, he thought they were also discriminatory towards those who were left handed.

He continued to pass the filled rows of machines until he came to the glassed in cases of cashiers and drew out his credit card to finance this venture. He figured he'd start small, get a feel for the cards, tables and dealers. He didn't want to blow all his money the first day and if he did do fairly well, he certainly didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. Card counters were spotted and hauled out of the casinos faster than he could certainly come up with a solution to the P versus NP problem, but not so fast that he couldn't recite at least the first one hundred digits to Pi before that event occurred.

Once he had what he needed, he wandered through the numerous tables of blackjack first and when he came upon one with an empty seat, he settled in and waited for the current hand to finish before he placed his first bet.

Charlie played for a solid couple of hours, winning more than he lost and just as he was about to walk away for the evening, the lady who had been playing next to him turned and smiled. She also had done fairly well throughout the evening, which he was sure accounted for her smile. But he was taken by surprise, when she asked him if he'd like to join her in one of the lounges for a drink.

He'd noticed she was attractive, well dressed and had a very pleasant voice during their game play, and now that he'd been offered a chance to get to know her better, he was torn. This could be the chance to prove to himself that what he'd felt last night in regards to Don was a fluke and a passing fancy.

"Sure. I'd enjoy that."

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks go to Separatrix for her invaluable beta reading services once again and for her continued support in getting this story written. Any characters created outside those of the series Numb3rs are my own. I may not have everything correct in terms of procedure in regards to Don and his FBI status, and use of fire arms, but I'm not about to spend a lot of time researching it :). Any errors remaining are my own.

**Unavoidable Truths - Chapter 15**

Don got an earlier flight to Vegas than he expected. It was even a first class seat on the front row so he would have plenty of stretching room for his legs and a comfortable cushy seat in which to rest in. The seat had cost almost an arm and a leg, and in his mind he laughed at the idea that Charlie had given his arm and he had given his leg to put them both in just this situation. He then called the Renaissance Hotel and booked a room. He'd tried to get one close to Charlie, but they wouldn't let him know what room Charlie was in even after claiming that he was his brother, nor when they patched him through to Charlie's room, did he receive an answer.

Alan drove Don to Don's apartment to pick up some clean clothes and to make sure everything was still a-okay at his place. After Don locked up his apartment once more, they drove to the airport. Alan dropped him off just outside the terminal. He helped unload the one piece of luggage and Don was grateful when a porter came and helped tag the luggage then placed it for pickup so Don wouldn't have to actually carry it into the terminal.

"Good luck, Don. I'm sure things will have been straightened out before you come home. And enjoy the time there. Win some, lose some and take in some shows. Have a good vacation and knock whatever sense you need to into Charlie's head."

"Thanks, Pop. And well.. thanks."

Alan hugged his son and watched as the man walked into the airport with the help of a cane. He hoped both men would work things out between them. And if things did progress from a sibling relationship into something more, he'd still be supportive. They were his sons, and he loved them both equally. If they found love with each other, he'd be happy for them and sad that the prospect of grandchildren would not be coming his way. His worry though would be their friends. Would they be able to handle the knowledge? He sighed and headed the car for home. It would be a long week; he had to hope that one or the other would keep him in the loop or he would worry.

* * *

Charlie sat across from 'Lynda with a y' and listened as she talked about her recent forays into gambling and how well she'd been doing. She said her family had always told her she had luck, and that it was turning out to be very true. He had been nursing his one bottle of beer since joining her in one of the many lounges scattered along the perimeter of the casino and had tried to see if there was some kind of spark to be had. There was nothing. And he was bored. When had he gotten so cynical that not talking about his equations or his work with the FBI made him feel bored? He should be more open to relationships with people from outside his background and field. Maybe he just had to come to the realization that he would always be drawn to someone he shared interests with. _But if that were true, wouldn't I have stayed with Amita?_

He smiled and nodded his head at timely intervals as he continued to half listen to Lynda talk. _Maybe I could back out now and claim that my injury is bothering me, that I have to go up to my room and take my medication and rest? I have to get out of here or I'll explode._

Charlie waited until there was a lull in the conversation before mentioning that his arm and shoulder were bothering him. "It was nice to meet you, Lynda. I had a wonderful evening sitting here chatting with you. Perhaps we'll run into each other sometime before I go."

He tried to escape her grasp, but she reached out and trapped his hand that had been holding his beer. "Are you staying here, maybe we could meet for breakfast and continue spending time together?"

Charlie hated lying, but he wasn't above it when it suited his purposes; especially like now. "Actually, I'm staying with friends and we have plans for tomorrow. I don't know what they are or when we'll be doing them, because they're just fly by the seat of their pants kind of people, but we'll definitely be busy. I'm sorry. Really, if I run into you again while I'm here, we should have drinks again." Charlie stood up and gently squeezed the hand that had captured his. He knew that she knew it wouldn't happen -- that they wouldn't run into each other again. No phone numbers were exchanged and no last names were given. Charlie heaved a sigh of relief as he left the casino. He couldn't get to the shuttle fast enough.

He thought of going into one of the lounges at the Renaissance and then drinking himself into a nice mellow oblivion, but he decided against it and went instead to his room. He took some of his medication with a glass of tap water, then stretched out on the turned down bed. He thought briefly of trying to struggle by himself into preparing for sleep by undoing his sling and trying to get out of his worn shirt, but gave that up for the moment while he waited for the pain to fade away as the medication kicked in. As he lay there, Charlie thought over the entire night and wondered if the epiphany he'd had about Don just over twenty-four hours ago was what had kept him from wholeheartedly pursuing the beautiful woman he'd just left with hardly a hand shake. Had he been bored because his mind couldn't fully concentrate on the here and now and part of him had been subconsciously mulling over the situation he was currently in, the reason he'd fled his home for a vacation that he hadn't even made plans for two days ago?

_Man, my brain hurts just trying to untangle that question._ All Charlie knew was that even when he wasn't trying to think of Don, he was thinking of Don. He'd tried to escape his older brother, and he couldn't. As the prescribed medication washed the pain in his shoulder and back away, Charlie drifted off to sleep thinking of what he would need to say to Don and his father when he called home tomorrow. He knew he should have called at some point during the day, and he still had time this evening, but the thought of it caused his stomach to heave and he shuddered in fear. _I'll just sleep on it one more night. Perhaps things will be clearer in the morning._

As the night progressed, so too did Charlie's dreams. If he were awake and aware, he'd likely label them as nightmares more than fantasies, but while he slept the sleep of the lightly medicated, his fantasies were something any red blooded woman or gay man would love to see in real life. Don was slowly stripping Charlie of his clothing, trailing kisses down every inch of exposed skin. Neither man was hampered by their current injuries, and so the dream progressed as irrational and illogical as dreams are wont to do -- they were naked in the blink of an eye and well on their way to climax by rubbing and grinding against one another. Charlie didn't dream of learning and exploring the new territory of another man's body, just of being enthusiastic and eager to love.

* * *

Don was physically and emotionally tired by the time the cab dropped him off at the front of the Renaissance Hotel. It was just after eleven at night, and he should have been at the hotel and checked in two hours ago. He had sat as patiently as possible in the terminal and on the airplane as delay after delay had occurred. He thought his luck on his travels had changed when on his arrival he had found a cab with some ease, but that thought died a quick death when just after leaving the airport, the road the taxi was on became a parking lot. A four car pile up had happened just a mile up the road and no turn off was available close by. He knew the hotel wasn't far from the airport, and if his leg hadn't been bothering him for the last hour, he would have easily walked the rest of the way. 

He limped into the lobby and was approached by a porter almost immediately. He thanked the man as he handed over his bag and the two of them went up to the check-in desk. After Don had registered into his own room, he tried once more to find out information on the room his 'brother' was staying in without the use of his badge and credentials, but when the attractive woman with the slowly dimming smile was about to hail the night manager, he hauled out his badge and told her that he needed to find his brother to help with a case. She looked at his badge with caution, and still called for the night manager anyway. Don's leg was throbbing at that point, and his head was about to explode from the tension and anxiety. He didn't need this hassle, but he had to find some way of getting in touch with Charlie this evening without alerting Charlie first to his presence. If it was because of Don that Charlie had run, he didn't want to have the man run yet again by being forewarned.

Don noted the manager's name badge on the hotel issued blazer and then looked directly into the man's eyes. "Mr. Lauer, you can call the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles to verify I am who I say I am, and if you do, please be quick about it. I was shot this past Tuesday in a hostage situation and my leg is killing me, so I would just love to get to my room as soon as possible to lay down. Oh, and thinking on that, I should probably rent a safety box from you to store my weapon in while I'm here."

Don pulled out his gun from inside his jacket and he showed his license to carry a concealed weapon as well. He'd already had to show it once while going through airport security, but he knew that precaution and safety on flights was paramount and hadn't begrudged showing proof.

"Certainly sir, I'll just be a moment then."

"Then I'll go wait," Don turned and pointed to some seats in the lobby area, "over there."

Don asked the porter to go ahead and deliver his bag to his room, while he waited and handed over his key-card. "I'll be sure to tip you when you come back with the card." He gave the other man a tired smile and watched as he departed. The chairs in the lobby were actually comfy and had a tall enough back that Don could lean his head against it and close his eyes for a second. He was interrupted once, on the return of the porter, and he thanked the man again and tipped him for his help. The lure of sleep though was great, so he closed his eyes while he waited once more.

After what was probably only ten minutes, Don felt a light touch on his shoulder and he jerked awake. "What?"

"I apologize Agent Eppes. Your home office sent a fax to verify your identity and confirmed that your brother also consulted with the FBI. He's located in room 503. I took the liberty of calling his room after seeing if he was in, but there was no answer. So he's probably asleep. Let us know if you or your brother need anything while you are here."

"Thank you, Mr. Lauer. We appreciate that." Don thought briefly of just heading straight to his room, but knowing that Charlie was definitely in and not likely to be going out anytime soon, he headed for room 503 instead.

As he stood facing the door, he reconsidered his actions and then shoved them aside. Perhaps by waking Charlie from sleep, Don would get a more honest answer in the response Charlie gave when he answered the door. Don knocked three times loudly on the door. Then waited about half a minute, before doing it again. He repeated his pattern twice more, and was just about to give up when the door swung open.

A bleary eyed Charlie stood before him, and Don watched as Charlie tried to blink some of the sleepiness away. Don held his breath, as he waited for Charlie to recognize him and what stunned him was the beautiful smile that graced Charlie's face as his bro..cousin said his name. Before Don could respond, Charlie reached out with his left hand and grabbed a hold of Don's shirt and dragged him into the room. Don's breath caught as he felt Charlie's lips press against his in the sweetest kiss he thought he would ever have.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Thanks go to Separatrix for once again beta reading my chapter. You rock! Sorry for the delay in getting this out, real life sucks. Any errors remaining are my own.  
**Warnings:** The ratings just hit max with this chapter, I hope you like where the boys go in this one.

**Unavoidable Truths, Chapter 16 **

The kiss was rich and warm, and Don let himself feel it completely from his head down to his toes. He wanted it to last forever but it ended after several seconds when his rational mind took over; he jerked away in shock. "Charlie!"

Don watched as Charlie blinked some more and saw the horror wash over the other man's face as he realized what he'd done.

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry, Don. I..." Charlie honestly couldn't come up with a convincing lie to cover his actions. He'd been dreaming of making love to Don just as the knock on the door had come and woken him up, and seeing the very man in front of him had spurred him into continuing the dream. In his half-awake state, Charlie had participated in the kiss, but as if numb and partially unaware of this actions. Now he wished he'd been more awake to have processed the kiss and all the physical reactions to it. "I ... " Charlie sighed, then rubbed his hand over his face and up through his hair to wipe away some of the lingering sleepiness. The pain killers coursing through his body were still working and his brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Don turned around to avoid looking at Charlie's discomfort, and closed the hotel room door. He then leaned sideways to take some of the pressure and weight off his leg. He closed his eyes and felt so much of the day wash through him. The worry, the guilt, the anger, the frustration, the love, and the loneliness were all there. "Is this why you left?"

Charlie didn't pretend to misunderstand Don's question. "Yeah," he said softly. Almost too soft for Don to hear, but he heard it all the same. Don watched as Charlie wandered back to his temporary bed and sat down on the edge. Charlie's good hand clenched the sheets in panic and his head was bowed.

Don pushed away from the door and took the lone chair not attached to a table of some kind and slowly lowered himself down and stretched his leg out straight.

"First off, when you get a chance, call Dad. We were worried when you took off like that this morning, and then never called. Second, I don't know what kind of epiphany or event led to this happening, but you sure as hell better explain why running away was your only answer. And third, next time, keep the hotel door chained. You don't know who may be on the other side of it."

Charlie grumbled something under his breath, and Don was almost tempted to ask him to repeat himself, but thought better of it. Both men were emotionally drained and physically tired, so he wasn't really into discussing things in detail right that very moment.

"Look, Charlie. I just wanted to make sure you were here, and to let you know that I was also staying in the hotel. I'm one flight up in 609. How about we both call it a night and we meet up in the morning for breakfast at around 9, sound good?" Don asked Charlie in as pacifying a tone as possible.

Charlie's head cocked to the side in contemplation, while he looked intensely at him. He was sure that Charlie could see the pain etched around his eyes, and the droop to his shoulders. Charlie nodded his head, and a smile caught at the corners of that wonderful mouth. The lips of which were still a little puffy from the brief, but enthusiastic kiss. Don wanted to drag the man across from him back into his arms for another round of kisses, now that he'd had a brief but wonderful taste. He could, of course, follow through on his desires, if it weren't for the that fact that he was still tired and Charlie was still a member of his family. Cousins. Not brothers. And it was that thought that reminded him of the second reason he'd come in search of Charlie.

"Charlie, there's something you have to know," Don paused as he waited to have Charlie's full attention to what he was about to say. "David had come by the house minutes after you had left, telling Dad and I that there was something wrong with our DNA test results when they tried to match up the samples David had taken in the hospital from those at the scene of the shooting. The tech in the crime labs told him that the DNA didn't match up with our being brothers and that he'd made an error."

Don paused and waited to see if Charlie would get the pieces of what he was trying to say without having to finish the story. When he saw the surprise and understanding dawn on Charlie's face, then the quizzical and questioning look follow, he knew he'd have to continue.

"Biologically speaking, I'm your cousin apparently, something like once removed. I'm not up on the family tree terminology. Dad's cousin, Michael Eppes and his wife died along with his parents in a car accident when I was barely old enough to walk. I was at home being watched by a babysitter while they were out having dinner. Dad and Mom took me in and adopted me. Then of course a few years later, you came along."

Don drifted off in thought as he thought about all their years growing up. "You know, it makes sense really."

"What makes sense, Don?"

"Why I'm so different from the rest of the family. I don't have the same facial features, like the bushy eyebrows you and Dad both have; the Eppes nose, you both sport as well." Don reached up and ran a finger down his nose, as he looked closer at the beloved features of Charlie. "So we're not brothers, except in spirit of how we were raised. But even having known that, we fell in love with each other anyway. It is love, right? For you as well?"

With sharpened eyes, Don watched every change that would come across Charlie's face as he asked that question. "I... I'm not... " Don's breath stalled as Charlie stuttered and then closed his eyes. He waited for the denial of words, that it wasn't love after all; just a physical attraction and nothing more. "Yeah, I've been trying to convince myself that I didn't love you, I mean, that I only loved you as a brother. But all I've done this last week and this last day, is think about you. Be worried about you, about our relationship. Keeping it together. Seeing those two men in the restaurant last night..." His voice trailed out as he recalled the events of the night before and Charlie shook his head, while a smile touched his mouth at the corners. "The men looked just like us, well as close to us without actually being us. And the love they shared -- so visible for anyone to see -- sparked the same need in me for you. I wanted that. I wanted you. And I couldn't have you, just like you couldn't have me. So I tried to deny it, hence getting away as fast as possible."

"Oh. Yeah, I can see it." Don's heart beat picked up at hearing Charlie declare his love for him. He wanted to jump up and down with joy. The two men were so close to having everything they wanted, yet one thing still remained in their way. Then he remembered that there was one more piece of news he had to share and figured he might as well get all of the truth out in one night. "Ah, you should also know that I told Dad that I was in love with you."

"What!? Don, are you insane? Even if we're not brothers, we're still related, which means it's still illegal. Right? I mean, you would know more about the law than I would." Charlie stood as he spoke, then paced in his agitation. "What did he say, when you told him?"

From his seat, Don watched the short strides as Charlie walked back and forth in front of him. He would rather like it if Charlie sat, so he wouldn't accidentally trip over his outstretched legs. "That whatever happened, he still loved us and would support us." His words stopped Charlie in his tracks. "You know, maybe if you checked the computer we could find out if our relationship... I mean, the uh, possibility of our having a _close _relationship is illegal. You brought yours didn't you? And this room does have internet access?"

Charlie jerked and blinked. "Right, right. Yes, I did and yes, it does. Hold on, let me set it up."

Don felt a stirring of interest as Charlie bent over to grab his laptop bag and stretched his pants over a fairly tight ass. He shifted in his chair as subtly as possible and sighed with relief as the pressure lessened. He drifted a bit as he heard the sounds of a computer booting up and the hard drive spinning. The white noise was lulling. Then before long the clack of keys joined into the melody. Charlie's humming made him open his eyes a bit. Through his slitted gaze, he watched the lamp that sat next to where Charlie sat halo his dark curls. The sight was enthralling to Don.

"Ah ha!"

The sound of the excited exclamation jolted Don from his reverie. "What did you find?"

"It's only illegal if we're first cousins, and in fact California law states that first-cousin marriage without restriction is permitted. And according to this family organization chart I found, we're second cousins." Charlie turned around and looked Don square in the eyes as he spoke again, "Which means a relationship between us isn't illegal."

Don sat up straight as the news sank in. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I mean with the brief search for the information I've just barely touched on. We could do a more thorough search later. But I honestly think because we're second cousins, we're safe from any law in the U.S."

Don was at a loss now how to proceed. If this were one of his usual relationships with someone like Robin, he'd go straight for the sex. But this was Charlie, who was a man and someone he'd thought of as a brother for nearly thirty-five years. He didn't know how to have a sexual relationship with a man and neither had Charlie as far as he was aware. Before he could say something, the silence was broken first by Charlie.

"As much as I wouldn't mind having you stay the night and finding out where this could go, Don, neither of us in the shape to do anything about what we're feeling and I don't think my brain is ready to go there just yet, though my heart and body are checking in and saying otherwise." Charlie got up from the desk and squatted down next to Don's chair. While he balanced precariously on one knee, he put his bandaged arm on top of Don's good leg and reached out with his left hand and caressed Don's cheek tenderly.

Don let his eyes drift closed and he leaned into the touch. The warmth from Charlie's hand was soothing.

"You know, this is yet another first.

"I've never felt another man's face before, and the five o'clock shadow you're sporting feels prickly against my hand. It feels wonderful to me, Don." As he spoke those words, he ran his fingertips from the corner of Don's eye down to the edge of his mouth. The contrast in textures on one face was startling. With women it had always been smooth, with the occasional residue of make-up left behind, but not now. Don's face was strong and yet the skin was soft around the cheeks and eyes, bristly around the mouth, and his lips were firm and yet silky to the touch. Charlie felt his breathing escalate as he watched his fingers trace the outline of Don's mouth. It was erotic and sensual, to be doing this.

Charlie felt his cock stir to life and then harden when he saw, then felt, Don's tongue come out and swipe at his fingers. He experimented and ran his fingers along the lips again and then when Don opened his mouth once more, Charlie slipped two fingers inside. The warmth surrounding those digits gave him fuel to his imagination of what that mouth would feel like wrapped around the head of his penis. Charlie groaned at the sight and the feeling. He knew if they kept this up, it would be over quickly. He didn't want his first time coming with Don to be while they were both tired and just getting accustomed to their new status of second cousins and possibly as... no... definitely as lovers. With some reluctance, Charlie slowly slid his fingers from between Don's lips. He felt Don's tongue lave the fingers and the lips grip them as if it to keep them in place. If he had had the ability to use his right hand, he would definitely have grabbed his erection and squeezed it. He noticed that Don had no such problem, and watched as Don's right hand came up and palmed his own cock through his jeans. Charlie gasped at the sight. Maybe he shouldn't have been so hasty in trying to pull back, because watching Don stroke himself ramped up his arousal even more.

"God, Don. You are so fucking hot like this. You make me want to bury my head in your crotch and lick your cock until you explode into my mouth." As the words left Charlie's mouth, he felt Don's teeth nip at the fingers that were still trapped in the other man's mouth and then heard them leave with a pop as Don gasped and then groaned.

Don bucked up from the chair and his hand pushed down as he rubbed hard on his cock. "Charlie," he groaned long and low as his body came. He felt the long spurts of ejaculate dampen his underwear, and it was all so good. It felt luxurious to orgasm and not have to be ashamed of who was causing the reaction. He panted as the high from endorphins swept through his body -- his leg temporarily stopped aching, the headache that had been building behind his eyes was now gone, and he felt pleasantly lethargic, so he relished every second of that feeling. He hadn't known Charlie had such a dirty mouth on him. But now that he did know and what his own response would be to it, he'd definitely be encouraging Charlie to talk dirty often in the days to come.

"Shit, Charlie." Don pushed the lethargy off and reached for Charlie. He grasped the man behind the neck and pulled him up, while he leaned down. He plundered the sweet mouth below him. That lovely carnal mouth with the soft, pouty lips. His tongue dueled with Charlie's, both of them strong and determined to seek as much satisfaction as it could from the other. The taste of Charlie's mouth was something he would definitely become addicted to. Hints of beer that Charlie must have had earlier still lingered and Don chased it down along with everything else.

Don strained his body to almost breaking, but he would damn well see that Charlie got off, just like he had. He reached for Charlie's cock, being careful of the man's arm almost pinned between their two bodies and rubbed it with as much surety as had done his own. He felt Charlie's moan through their joined mouths. He didn't think it would take much more to bring Charlie off. With dexterity Don hadn't known he had, he flicked open the button at the top of Charlie's pants and pulled down the zipper, once there was more room to maneuver his hand, Don slipped it inside Charlie's underwear. For the first time ever, he was gripping a cock that was not his own and the weight and feel of it was beautiful. So warm and alive in his hand. He gave a few light squeezes and pulls, and Charlie pulled away from their kiss to gasp for breath.

The sight of a disheveled and debauched Charlie was amazing. His lips were now thoroughly bruised and puffy from their kisses, and his eyes were glazed with lust. Don leaned in close and whispered against Charlie's temple, "You are so beautiful like this Charlie. Kissable, fuckable, and totally delicious looking. I could eat you and swallow you whole." With each word spoken, Don pulled and twisted Charlie's cock and watched as come shot out from the end. Most was caught within the underwear but some splatters landed on Don's jeans and Charlie's shirt, and a lot fell onto the hand still cradling the spent cock. Don pulled his hand away and gave a tentative lick to the white droplets. The taste burst on his tongue, and he knew he'd have to try getting it fresh and straight from the source at some point, but for now they wouldn't rush it any more than they already had. Here they were going to date and take it slow. Don huffed out a laugh and watched as the pleasure on Charlie's face faded a bit as curiosity took its place. "Some first date, huh?"

Charlie's lips formed a perfect 'o' in surprise and then he laughed. "Yeah, Don. Some first date. I may have said we shouldn't spend the night earlier, but seeing as how we've already progressed past that, would you like to stay? Get some sleep beside me?"

Don shook his head, "Nah, buddy. I think I should sleep in my own bed tonight.

"We really shouldn't have done what we just did, but it felt right at the time and I don't have any regrets. We should slow down and yeah, definitely learn together. But while the good feelings are still running through me and the pain is at an ebb, I should go." One brother helped the other get situated for the night. Then Don dropped another quick kiss onto Charlie's lips and departed before he could change his own mind, because the image of Charlie looking sated and completely relaxed would tempt the soul of a nun.

As the door shut behind Don, Charlie whispered a soft goodnight as he lifted his hand to touch his lips. A thrill shot threw him that both men could have what they wanted now, with no bothersome consequences about morality and legality.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: So real life kicked butt, I moved to another country, left behind a significant other and started taking care of my mom. Along the way, I quit watching Numb3rs, which is the real reason I didn't write anymore on this story. However, I just feel it needs to be finished. This chapter, sadly is unbeta'd so literally any errors are mine alone.

**Part 17 of Unavoidable Truths**

Both Charlie and Don feel to sleep instantly, even if both men were in spearate rooms. The high from his earlier orgasm helped Don have a fairly peaceful sleep -- especially in conjunction his pain meds. As for Charlie, knowling that things between he and Don were not put to rights allowed him to fall into a dreamfilled sleep. The dreams weren't the same as before, but Charlie couldn't complain, they weren't nightmares of distance and pain due to disinterest.

Upon waking the next morning, Don took extra care to make himself presentable. He shaved, used cologne and dressed as sharp as he could be but still feel relaxed. He took the elevator down one floor and proceeded to stand in front of Charlie's door. Don raised and lowered his hand a few times in the act of knocking. He kept telling himself that las night had not been a dream of fevered longing, but had in actuality taken place. He'd seen his dirty boxers on the floor as solid proof.

'But what if Charlie's changed his mind? He'd been high on medication and lack of sleep last night after all.' Don questioned to himself.

Don took a deep breath and told his overcautious conscience to shut the hell up and then he knocked. Charlie must have been in wait because the door opened not two seconds later.

Each man stopped and just looked at the other and Don knew just as Charlie did, by the look in each others eyes that it wasn't a dream and the feelings weren't going away. Charlie grinned and Don could just imagine that smile on his face being dopey as hell.

"Hey!" Charlie put his hand out, the one not bound to his chest by a stupid sling and tugged at Don's wrist to urge him inside.

"Shouldn't we head down to breakfast?" Don asked as he made his way inside.

Charlie pulled Don to the left of the door and shut it. "In a minute, first I want to ..." Charlie didn't bother to finish his statement. Instead, he leaned into Don's space and gently brushed their lips together.

Don's mouth opened in a silent oh of surprise, and Charlie dove in and took advantage of the opportunity given. Tongues dueled and hands clasped at whatever surface they could grab hold to.

Both men parted and pulled in great gasps of air, their eyes locked once again. Don growled and Charlie's breathing hitched. The lust in Don's eyes was searing. Charlie's dick twitched in interest, he'd already been half hard all morning just thinking about Don in anticipation. High brain functions almost stopped to exist, but then the sound of a stomach rumbling intervened.

Charlie snickered and the lustful look on Don's face slowly morphed into amusement. "Okay, so breakfast really should come next. I think that sound belonged to mine." Don patted his stomach and then raised his hand to caress Charlie's cheek. "After we eat, we should think of doing something other than what involves a bed. Your arm is still healing, just as my leg is and I think sex is too much activity for either of us at the moment."

Charlie's eyes sparkled and he smiled devilishly as he spoke, "But we managed just fine last night." The sparkle dimmed a bit and the smile faded some as Charlie continued, "I'm not prepared for much beyond what we've done anyway. Hand jobs and blow jobs are pretty good for a first step for two newbies like us."

Charlie leaned forward again and took a nip at Don's lower lip. Then laved his tongue to soothe the possible hurt. Don groaned. He'd had no idea Charlie was so sex starved. "Jesus, Charlie, is sex all that's on your mind?"

Charlie wrapped his arms around Don's waist and nuzzled his lips along Don's jaw. When he was close enough to Don's ear, he whispered in a low, sex-filled voice, "Yes, Don. At this very moment, sex is all I want to think about. It's been months for me and I want to make up for lost time." Charlie tilted his pelvis forward to emphasize just how much he really wanted to partake of the bed behind him. He rubbed his dick against Don, and he groaned lowly into Don's ear at the pleasure the pressure had created.

"Oh, hell. Why not! Breakfast can wait a while longer." Don pushed Charlie away, grabbed hold of his cane and made his way over to the bed. "But we're gonna make sure we're both comfortable. I'll help you with your pants. Come over here," Don directed as he sat down on the edge of the unmade bed.

Charlie made a beeline striaght for his bro... cousin... _no lover_. From now on Charlie was only going to think of Don as his lover. There was no going back. He knew that nothing could or would go wrong. For the sake of their family and their Dad, this had to work.

He watched through lwoered lashes as Don slowly lowered the zipper on his own pants first and then on Charlie's. Don scooted back until his whole body was on the bed, his head resting on the pillow Charlie has used last night while he slept. Don watched through lust hazed eyes as Charlie stepped completely out of his pants and underwear, then knelt on the bed, knees positioned on either side of Don's ankles. Don pushed his pants down as well, hooking his boxers with his thumbs. His dick bobbed up from being confined. Don knew this wouldn't take long, he and Charlie were both already close to the edge. His dick and Charlie's were already hard and leaking. The excitement and newness of their relationship made them both eager. He pulled his shirt up so that it bunched under his armpits. His nipples were now exposed and they peaked at the cool air hitting them.

Charlie drew in a surprised gasp of air. Don looked so hot and needy. He crawled up the length of Don's legs until his dick was poised just above Don's. He leaned over onto his good hand and lowered his waist down until they were touching intimately. Don groaned and thrust up gently, trying not to push too hard with his bad leg.

"Don't Don. Let me do the _hard _work here. Just enjoy." Charlie smirked when he stressed the word hard.

Charlie pushed down again and the friction between his dick and Don's was delicious. The pre-come from them both combined to make a heady scent that filled the room. He pushed back and forth, sliding into the fold near Don's balls and thigh. The hairs from Don's groin felt like tiny fingers grabbing and trying to hold on. Charlie gasped though when he felt two hands take hold of them both.

"Don," Charlie groaned. "OH, God that feels so good."

Don panted harshly at the sight before him. Never in his wildest fantasies had he ever though that seeing Charlie in the throes of ecstasy would make his own desire increase. The plush lips that issued forth such sweet sounds were Don's undoing and he tightened his grip.

"Come on, Charlie. I want to see you lose it again, just like you did last night."

Charlie thrust once more and he stopped for a second as he strained upwards. His head was thrown back as he came, with Don's name on his lips. Charlie's hips stuttered a few times as he continued to come.

"Oh yeah, perfect!" For Don the feel and sight of Charlie letting go completely was all he needed to let go as well. Charlie loved to see the bliss on Don's face and watched with interest as Don's come mixed on his chest with Charlie's.

Before Charlie crashed down next to Don on the bed, he leaned over and grabbed the towel from his shower earlier that he had tossed onto the unused side of the bed and wiped them both clean.

Once that was done, Charlie laid down on his left side. He hated that he couldn't lay on his right so he could touch and cuddle with Don. Now both arms and hands were constrained. He sighed and laid he head on Don's shoulders, making himself as comfortable as he could.

Don smiled at the tenderness Charlie displayed. He wrapped his arms tightly around the younger man and let his chin push through the damp curls at Charlie's temple.

"So... maybe instead of going out for breakfast, we order in room service?" Don suggested.

Charlie chucked and the warm gust of air brushed over Don's still exposed nipple. Charlie watched in fascination as it tightened even further. He leaned up and took the closest nub into his mouth and sucked on it. Don groaned again and he felt his dick jerk in sympathy.

"Charlie, you're gonna be the death of me. I can't go again."

Charlie let go of Don and licked at the poor abused nipple. "Not hardly Don. At least not yet. But room service does sound good. Maybe after a short nap though. If that's okay?"

Charlie yawned and Don felt his stomach protest a bit, but before he could say anything against that plan, Charlie was out like a light.

Don snorted and rolled his eyes. He was so going to tease Charlie about his being such a typical male.

TBC (hopefully another year and some change won't go by before that happens)


End file.
